^<:A.\/\ 


THE  LIBRARY 

OF 

THE  UNIVERSITY 

OF  CALIFORNIA 


PRESENTED  BY 

PROF.  CHARLES  A.  KOFOID  AND 

MRS.  PRUDENCE  W.  KOFOID 


Digitized  by  the  Internet  Archive 

in  2007  with  funding  from 

IVIicrosoft  Corporation 


http://www.archive.org/details/fishingwithflyskOOorvirich 


1M£^''\^ 


^li overs  of  tKeArVywitlv 

IllastrAtion^  of StaHcUit^ tUes. CotleeteclW 

1885 


CoPTiaoHT.  Ifm, 
By  CHARLES  F.  ORVIS. 


TROWS 

PRINTING  AND   BOOKBINDING  COMPANY, 

NEW  YORK. 


INDEX  TO  PLATES  AND  FLIES. 


Salmon  Flies. 
Plate  I facing  page      7 

Lake  Flies. 
Plate  II facing  page    45 

m "      "     79 

IV "      "   101 

Trout  Flies. 

Plate  V facing  page  109 

VI ♦*        "    143 

Vn "        "    171 

PLATB 

Abbey 3,  5 

Academy 2 

Alder 7 

Alexandra 13 

Beaverkill 7 

Bee 4 

Black  and  gold 15 

Black  ant 5 

Black  gnat 10 

Black  June 2,  7 

"Black  Maria " .14 

Blue  bottle 4 

Blue  jay 5,  15 

Blue  professor 5 

Brown  collin 9 

Brown  hackle 10 

Butcher 1 

Caddis 13 

Caldwell     9 

Californian 14 

Camlet  dun 7 


Plate  VIII facing  page  197 

IX "        '♦    225 

Hackles  and  Gnats. 
Plate  X facing  page  241 

Bass  Flies. 

Plate  XI facing  page  257 

XII "        ''    273 

XIII '•■        ♦'    289 

XIV .     <'        "    307 

XV **        "    327 

PLATE 

Canada 4 

Captain 2 

Chantry 6 

Cheney 7,  11 

Cinnamon 7 

Claret 9 

Coachman 5 

gilt 5 

"         leadwing 5 

' '         red  tip 5 

*'         royal 5 

Coch-y-bonddu 10 

Cowduug 5 

Curtis 1 

Dark  stone 5 

Davis    13 

Deerfly 7 

Dorset 8 

Emerald  gnat 10 

Ethel  May 6 

Fairy 1 


IVI363611 


INDEX. 


PLATE 

Ferguson 3,  14 

Fern   5 

Fiery  brown 6 

Finfly 7 

Fitz-Maurice 13 

General  Hooker 8 

Governor 7 

Grasshopper 4,  8 

Gray  coflin 7 

Gray  drake 2,  8 

Great  dun 6 

Green  and  gold 11 

Green  drake 7 

Grizzly  kina; 6,  14 

Hackles  . .  T 10 

Hawthorne 8 

Henshall 13 

Hod 7 

Hoskins 9 

Ibis,  scarlet  ...    3,  6,  11 

Imbrie 6 

Imperial 15 

Iron  dun 9 

Jenny  Lind 9 

Jock  Scott 1 

Jungle  cock 9,  13 

Katy-did 9 

King  of  the  water 8 

Kingdom 7 

La  belle 11 

Lake  green 9 

Manchester 15 

March  brown 8 

McLeod    15 

Montreal 3 

Morrison 9 

No  Name 4 

No.  68 8 

Oak  fly 7 

Oconomowoc 13 

Olive  gnat 9 

Ondawa 12 

Orange  black 8 


PLATE 

Oriole 13 

Pale  evening  dun 6 

Pennell  hackles 10 

Pheasant 9 

Polka 13 

Poor  man's  fly 9 

Portland 6 

Premier  ...    14 

Prince  William  of  Orange  . .     1 

Professor 3,  5 

"        blue 5 

Quaker 7 

Queen  of  the  water 9 

Red  ant 5 

Red  fox    7 

Red  spinner 8 

Reuben  Wood 8 

Romeyn 9 

Royal  coachman 3,  5 

Seth  Green 3,5,  13 

Shad  fly 11 

Shoemaker 8 

Silver  black 6 

"     doctor 1,  3 

"     gray 1 

Soldier 7 

"      gnat 10 

'*      palmer 6 

Spinner,  red 8 

Stebbins 8 

Stone  fly 6 

Teal 8 

Tipperlinn 14 

Tomah  Jo 4 

Triumph 13 

Whimbrel 6 

White  and  jungle  cock 15 

White  miller 6,  11 

Widow 8 

W.  T 13 

Yellow  drake ...     6 

"       may 7 


CONTENTS 


PAGE 

Etchings  on  a  Salmon  Stream— O^rZ^s  HaUock 1 

Fly  Casting  for  Salmon — George  Dawson 9 

The  Salmon  and  Trout  op  Alaska — L.  A.  Bexirddee 17 

Sea-Trout — Fitz  James  Fitch 47 

Rangely  Brook  Trout — James  A.  WiUiamson 81 

Fly-Fishing  for    Trout   in  the    Rangely    Region — 

HenryP.  Wells 87 

The  Grayling — Fred  Mather 103 

A  Trouting  Trip  to  St.  Ignace  Island — W.  Tlwmson  ...  Ill 

The  Angler's  Greeting —  W.  David  Tomlin 133 

The  Lure — "  Bourgeois  " 145 

Fly-Fishing  in  the  Yosemite — A.  Louis  Miner ^  Jr 157 

Fly-Fishing  on  the  Nipigon — Henry  H.  Vail 173 

How  TO  Cast  a  Fly — Seth  Gh^een 185 

Trout  :   Meeting  Them  on  the  **  June  Rise  "— *'  Msa- 

muk'' 187 

"  Why  Peter  Went  A-Fishing  "  (by  permission  of  the 

author)— TV".  C.  Pnme 199 

From  "  Game  Fish  op  the  North  "  (by  permission  of  the 

author)— i?.  B.  Roosevelt 209 

The  Poetry  op  Fly-Fishing— F.  E.  Pond 227 

A  Perfect  J)A.Y—Oeo.  W.  Van  Siden 237 

Suggestions — Charles  F.  Orvis  . . .  ^ . . .   243 

The  Resources  op  Fly-Fishing — Dr.  James  A.  HemhaU. .  259 

Winter  Angling — Frank.  8.  Pinckney 275 

Not  all  op  Fishing  to  Fish — A.  Nelson  Cheney 291 

Fly-Fishing  in  Florida— Dr.  (J.  J.  Kenwm'thy 309 

Fly-Fishing—^.  Z.  C.  Judson 319 


"Together  let  us  beat  this  ample  field, 
Try  what  the  open,  what  the  covert  yield." 

— Pope. 

"Gentlemen,  let  not  prejudice  prepossess  you.  I  confess  my 
discourse  is  like  to  prove  suitable  to  my  recreation,  calm  and 
quiet.  So  much  for  the  prologue  of  what  I  mean  to  say. " — Izaak 
Walton. 


Fishing  with  the  Flt. 


ETCHINGS  ON  A  SALMON  STREAM. 

BY 
CHARLES  HALLOCK. 


I  SUPPOSE  that  all  that  can  be  instructively  written 
of  the  salmon  has  already  been  said.  The  processes  of 
natural  and  artificial  propagation  have  become  familiar 
to  all  who  desire  to  learn ;  the  secrets  of  their  period- 
ical migrations — their  advents  and  their  absences — have 
been  fathomed  from  the  depths  of  ocean  ;  their  form 
and  beauty  have  been  lined  by  the  artist's  brush,  and 
their  flavor  (in  cans)  is  known  to  all  the  world  where 
commerce  spreads  her  wings.  And  yet,  the  subject  al- 
ways carries  with  it  a  perennial  freshness  and  piquancy, 
which  is  renewed  with  each  recurring  spring,  and  en- 
livened by  every  utterance  which  attempts  to  make  it 
vocal ;  just  as  the  heavenly  choirs  repeat  the  anthem  of 
the  constructed  universe  intoned  to  the  music  of  the 
assenting  spheres  !  The  enthusiasm  which  constantly 
invests  it  like  a  halo  has  not  been  dissipated  or  abated 
by  the  persistent  pursuit  of  many  centuries,  albeit  the 
sentiments  of  to-day  are  but  the  rehearsal  of  the  orig- 
1 


2  FISHING  WITH  THE  FLY. 

inal  inspiration,  and  present  knowledge  the  hereditary 
outcome  of  ancient  germs. 

All  down  the  ages  echo  has  answered  echo,  and  the 
resounding  rocks  have  transmitted  orally  the  accented 
annals  wherever  the  lordly  salmon  swims. 

Now,  hold  rhapsody,  and  let  us  look  to  the  river  ! 
Do  you  mark  the  regal  presence  in  yonder  glinting 
pool,  upon  which  the  sun  flashes  with  an  intensity 
which  reveals  the  smallest  pebble  on  the  bottom  ? 
]S"ay  ?  You  cannot  see  that  salmon,  just  there  at  the 
curl  of  the  rapid  ?  Nor  his  knightly  retinue  drawn  up 
there  abreast  just  behind  him  in  supporting  position  ? 
Then,  my  friend,  you  are  indeed  a  novice  on  the  river, 
and  the  refraction  of  the  solar  rays  upon  its  surface 
blinds  your  unaccustomed  eyes.  Well,  they  do  cer- 
tainly look  but  shadows  in  the  quiet  pool,  so  motionless 
and  inanimate,  or  but  counterfeiting  the  swaying  of  the 
pensile  rock-weeds  of  the  middle  stream.  What  com- 
fortable satisfaction  or  foreboding  premonitions  do  you 
imagine  possess  the  noble  lord  while  he  is  taking  his 
recuperative  rest  in  the  middle  chamber,  after  passing 
from  his  matriculation  in  the  sea  ?  Faith !  you  can 
almost  read  his  emotions  in  the  slow  pulsations  of  his 
pectoral  fins,  and  the  inflection  of  his  throbbing  tail ! 
Perhaps  he  shrinks  from  the  barricade  of  rock  and  foam 
before  him ;  or  hesitates  to  essay  the  royal  arch  above 
the  gorge,  which  reflects  in  prismatic  hues  of  emblem- 
atic glory  the  mist  and  mysteries  of  the  unattempted 


ETCHINGS  ON  A  SALMON  STREAM.  3 

And  liis  doughty  squires  around  him  ;  do  they  share 
his  misgivings,  or  are  they  all  royal  bloods  together, 
sans  peur  sans  reproclie,  in  scaled  armiture  of  blue  and 
silver,  eager  to  attain  the  land  of  promise  and  the  ulti- 
mate degree  of  revelation  ?  Ah  !  the  way  is  indeed 
beset  with  difficulties  and  crucial  tests,  but  its  end  is 
joy  and  the  fulness  of  knowledge  :  and  '^knowledge  is 
the  beginning  of  life." 

Let  us  go  nearer,  and  with  caution.  Ha  !  what  flash 
was  that  across  the  pool,  so  swift  and  sudden  that  it 
seemed  to  begin  and  end  at  once  ?  It  sped  like  a  silver 
arrow  across  the  line  of  sight,  but  it  was  not  a  silver 
arrow  ;  only  the  salmon  on  his  route  up  stream,  at  the 
rate  of  90  miles  per  hour.  Were  it  not  for  the  obstruc- 
tions of  the  cascades  and  the  long  rapids,  and  perchance 
the  wicked  set-nets  of  the  fishermen,  it  would  not  take 
him  long  to  accomplish  his  journey  to  the  head  of  the 
stream,  and  there  prepare  for  the  spawning-beds.  But 
were  the  way  to  procreation  made  thus  easy,  and  should 
all  the  salmon  of  a  season's  hatching  survive,  they 
would  stock  their  native  rivers  so  full  in  a  couple  of 
years  that  there  would  be  no  room  for  them.  So  the 
sacrifice  of  life  is  necessary  that  life  may  continue. 
Strange  the  paradox ! 

I  love  to  see  the  salmon  leap  in  the  sunlight  on  the 
first  flood  of  a  ''June  rise,"  and  I  love  to  hear  his 
splash  in  the  darkness  of  the  still  night,  when  the 
place  where  he  jumped  can  be  determined  only  by  the 
sound,  unless  perchance  his  break  in  the  water  disturbed 


4  FISHING  WITH  THE  FLY. 

the  reflection  of  a  star.  I  have  stood  on  heights  afar 
off  at  the  opening  of  the  season,  ere  my  unconsecrated 
rod  had  chance  to  exercise  its  magic,  or  my  lips  and 
feet  to  kiss  the  river,  and  with  the  combined  exhilara- 
tion of  impatience,  desire,  and  joy,  watched  the  inces- 
sant spurts  of  silvery  spray  until  my  chained  and  chafed 
spirit  almost  broke  at  the  strain ;  and  I  have  lain  on 
my  couch  at  midnight  sleepless  and  kept  awake  by  the 
constant  splash  of  the  salmon  leaps.  More  interesting, 
if  not  so  stimulating,  is  the  leap  of  the  salmon  at  ob- 
structing falls,  with  the  air  filled  with  dozens  of  dart- 
ing, tumbling,  and  falling  fish — the  foam  dashing  and 
sparkling  in  the  sun,  the  air  resonant  with  roar,  and 
damp  with  the  ever-tossing  spray.  Nay,  more  :  I  have 
seen  a  fall  whose  breast  was  an  unbroken  sheet  thirty 
feet  perpendicular,  inclosed  by  lateral  abutments  of 
shelving  crags  which  had  been  honey-combed  by  the 
churning  of  the  water  in  time  of  flood  ;  and  over  these 
crags  the  side-flow  of  the  falls  ran  in  struggling  rivu- 
lets, filling  up  the  holes  and  providing  little  reservoirs 
of  temporary  rest  and  refreshment  for  the  running 
salmon  ;  and  I  have  actually  seen  and  caught  with  my 
hands  a  twelve-pound  salmon  which  had  worked  its 
way  nearly  to  the  counterscarp  of  the  topmost  ledge  in 
its  almost  successful  effort  to  surmount  a  barrier  so  in- 
superable !  Surely,  the  example  of  such  consummate 
pertinacity  should  teach  men  to  laugh  at  average 
obstacles  which  stand  in  the  pathway  of  their  am- 
bition 1 


ETCHINGS  ON  A  SALMON  STREAM.  5 

I  always  become  enthusiastic  over  the  rugged  gran- 
deur of  some  Canadian  rivers  with  which  I  am  familiar. 

We  have  no  such  rivers  in  our  own  domain,  except 
on  the  Pacific  slope ;  and  except  in  parts  of  Scotland 
and  Norway,  the  streams  of  Europe  must  be  tame  in 
comparison.  It  is  because  so  few  of  our  own  anglers 
have  the  experience  to  enable  them  to  draw  contrasts, 
that  they  do  not  more  appreciate  the  charm  of  salmon 
fishing.  Even  a  vivid  description  fails  to  enforce  the 
reality  upon  their  comprehension,  and  they  remain  list- 
less and  content  with  smaller  game.  Beyond  the  cir- 
cumscribed horizon  of  grass-meadows  and  the  mountain 
trout  streams  of  New  England  and  the  Blue  Ridge  their 
vision  does  not  reach.  There  is  a  higher  plane  both  of 
eminence  and  art. 

Opportunely  for  man's  periodical  proclivities,  nature 
has  given  to  salmon  and  green  peas  a  vernal  flavor  and 
adaptation  to  each  other,  as  well  as  to  his  desires,  so 
that,  when  the  spring  comes  around  they  act  directly 
on  his  liver,  expelling  all  the  effete  accumulations  of 
winter,  stimulating  the  action  of  the  nerves  and  brain, 
and  imparting  an  irresistible  desire  to  go  a-fishing. 
They  oil  the  hinges  of  the  tongue  and  keep  it  wagging 
until  June.  When  that  auspicious,  leafy  month  arrives, 
not  all  the  cares  of  State  will  hold  a  President,  Vice- 
President,  or  even  a  Vice-Regent,  from  taking  his  an- 
nual outing  on  the  salmon  streams.  Representatives  of 
royalty  and  representatives  of  republicanism  join  sym- 
pathies and  hands.     The  Governor-General  of  Canada 


6  FISHING  WITH  THE  FLY, 

sails  to  his  favorite  river  in  a  government  vessel  with 
her  officers  in  full  panoply  of  brass  buttons  and  navy- 
blue.  The  President  of  the  United  States  abandons 
the  well-worn  star  routes  for  more  congenial  by-paths. 
Wealthy  Americans  in  private  yachts  steam  away  to  the 
tributaries  of  the  St.  Lawrence,  and  clubs  cross  lines 
on  their  exclusive  casting  grounds.  The  humbler  cit- 
izen, with  more  limited  purse,  betakes  his  solitary  way 
to  the  rehabilitated  streams  of  Maine,  enjoys  fair  sport, 
and  while  he  fishes,  thanks  the  indefatigable  Fish  Com- 
missioners of  the  State  for  the  good  work  which  they 
have  accomplished. 

So  everybody  is  happy,  and  nobody  left  out ;  and 
therefore  so  long  as  the  season  lasts — Hurrah  for  Sal- 
mon and  Green  Peas,  and  vive  la  Salmo  Salar  1 


3'Si^LMON    FIjIE;S.'=^     ' 


r^T't 


\^    m'^» 


Copyrighted  by  C.F.ORVIS.  Manchester. Vt 

!/iiliMBri!.ilKy  ^  C"  I.itti  Spmjlieiil,  Ms::. 


"  I  may,  perad venture,  give  you  some  instructions  that  may 
be  of  use  even  in  your  own  rivers  ;  and  shall  bring  you  acquainted 
with  more  flies  than  Father  Walton  has  taken  notice  of  in  his 
Complete  Angler." — Charles  Cotton. 

''Eh,  man  !  what  a  conceit  it  is  when  ye  reach  a  fine  run  on  a 
warm  spring  mornin',  the  wuds  hatchin'  wi'  birds,  an'  dauds  o' 
licht  noos  and  thans  glintin'  on  the  water  ;  an'  the  water  itsel'  in 
trim  order,  a  wee  doon,  after  a  nicht's  spate,  and  wi'  a  drap  o' 
porter  in't,  an'  rowin'  and  bubblin'  ower  the  big  stanes,  curlin' 
into  the  linn  and  oot  o't  ;  and  you  up  tae  the  henches  in  a  dark 
neuk  whaur  the  fish  canna  see  ye  ;  an'  than  to  get  a  lang  cast  in 
the  breeze  that  soughs  in  the  bushes,  an'  see  yer  flee  licht  in  the 
verra  place  ye  want,  quiet  as  a  midge  lichts  on  yer  nose,  or  a 
bumbee  on  a  flower  o'  clover." — Norman  McLeod,  D.D. 

"  Salmon  fishing  is  confessedly  the  highest  department  in  the 
school  of  angling." — George  Dawson. 


I. 

Prince  Wm.  of  Orange. 

2.  Butcher. 

3. 

Jock  Scott. 

4.  Silver  Doctor. 

6. 

Silver  Gray. 

5.  Fairy; 

7.  Curtis. 

"  The  noblest  of  fish,  the  mighty  salmon,  refuses  bait  utterly, 
and  only  with  the  most  artistic  tackle  and  the  greatest  skill  can 
he  be  taken  ;  the  trout,  which  ranks  second  to  the  salmon,  de- 
mands an  almost  equal  perfection  of  bait,  and  in  his  true  season, 
the  genial  days  of  spring  and  summer,  scorns  every  allurement 
but  the  tempting  fly.  The  black  bass  prefers  the  fly,  but  will 
take  the  trolling  spoon,  and  even  bait,  at  all  seasons  ;  whereas  the 
fish  of  lesser  station  give  a  preference  to  bait,  or  accept  it  alone. 
This  order  of  precedence  sufficiently  proves  what  every  thorough 
sportsman  will  endorse— that  bait  fishing,  although  an  art  of  in- 
tricacy and  difficulty,  is  altogether  inferior  to  the  science  of  fly 
fishing." — Robert  B.  Roosevelt. 


**  Sometimes  a  body  may  keep  threshin'  the  water  for  a  week 
without  seein'  a  snout— and  sometimes  a  body  hyucks  a  fish  at  the 
very  first  thrau  I  "—Christopher  NortK 

"Salmon  fishing  is,  to  all  other  kinds  of  angling,  as  buck 
shooting  to  shooting  of  any  meaner  description.  The  salmon  is 
in  this  particular  the  king  of  fish.  It  requires  a  dexterous  hand 
and  an  accurate  eye  to  raise  and  strike  him  ;  and  when  this  is 
achieved,  the  sport  is  only  begun,  where,  even  in  trout  angling, 
unless  in  case  of  an  unusually  lively  and  strong  fish,  it  is  at  once 
commenced  and  ended.  Indeed  the  most  sprightly  trout  that  ever 
was  hooked,  shows  mere  child's  play  in  comparison  to  a  fresh  run 
salmon." — Sir  Walter  Scott. 

***I  chose  the  largest  fiy  I  could  find,'  said  the  captain,  'be- 
cause the  water  here  is  very  deep  and  strong  ;  and  as  the  salmon 
lies  near  the  bottom  I  must  have  a  large  fly  to  attract  his  atten- 
tion ;  but  I  must  not  have  a  gaudy  fly,  because  the  water  is  so 
clear  that  the  sparkle  of  the  tinsel  would  be  more  glittering  than 
anything  in  nature  ;  and  the  fish,  when  he  had  risen  and  come 
near  enough  to  distinguish  it,  would  be  very  apt  to  turn  short.' 

"  *  You  have  it  now,  precisely,'  said  the  parson  ;  '  the  depth  of 
the  water  regulates  the  size  of  the  fly,  and  the  clearness  of  the 
water  its  colors.  This  rule,  of  course,  is  not  without  exceptions  ; 
if  it  were  there  would  be  no  science  in  fishing.  The  sun,  the  wind, 
the  season,  the  state  of  the  atmosphere,  must  also  be  taken  into 
consideration  ;  for  instance,  this  rapid  we  are  going  to  fish  now, 
is  the  very  same  water  we  have  been  fishing  in  below,  and  there- 
fore just  as  clear,  but  it  is  rough,  and  overhung  by  rocks  and 
trees.  I  mean  therefore  to  put  on  a  gayer  fly  than  any  we  have 
used  hitherto.' " — Rev.  Henry  Newland. 

"  I  unhesitatingly  assert  that  there  is  no  single  moment  with 
horse  or  gun  into  which  is  concentrated  such  a  thrill  of  hope, 
fear,  expectation,  and  exultation,  as  that  of  the  rise  and  success- 
ful striking  of  a  heavy  salmon.  I  have  seen  men  literally  unable 
to  stand,  or  to  hold  their  rod,  from  sheer  excitement,"—^.  Chol- 
mondeley-Pennell. 


PLY  CASTING  FOE  SALMON. 


BY 
GEORGE  DAWSON. 


Theee  is  no  essential  difference  between  trout  and 
salmon  casting.  The  same  general  principles  apply  to 
both,  and  it  only  requires  the  careful  application  of  the 
skill  attained  in  the  one  to  become  equally  expert  in 
the  other.  The  difference  is  simply  the  difference  in 
weight.  A  twelve-foot  trout  rod  weighs,  say,  eight 
ounces,  and  an  eighteen-foot  salmon  rod,  with  reel, 
weighs  two  or  three  times  as  much.  The  one  can  be 
manipulated  with  one  hand  ;  the  other  requires  both. 
With  the  one  you  ordinarily  cast  forty  or  fifty  feet ; 
with  the  other  sixty  or  eighty  ;  and  with  rods  equally 
approximating  perfection,  it  is  as  easy  to  cast  the  eighty 
feet  with  the  one  as  the  forty  feet  with  the  other.  I  do 
not  mean  to  say  that  no  more  muscular  exertion  is  re- 
quired in  the  one  case  than  in  the  other,  but  simply 
that  with  such  slight  effort  as  is  necessary  with  either, 
it  is  as  easy  to  place  your  fly  where  you  wish  it  with 
the  one  rod  as  with  the  other.  No  great  muscular  ex- 
ertion is  necessary  to  cast  with  either.  Indeed,  the 
chief  difficulty  in  casting  is  to  get  rid  of  the  idea  that 
a  great  deal  of  muscular  effort  is  necessary  to  get  out  a 


10  FISniNG  WITH  THE  FLY. 

long  line.  That  coveted  result  is  not  to  be  attained  by 
mere  muscle.  If  you  have  a  giant's  strength  you 
mustn't  use  it  like  a  giant.  If  you  do  you  will  never 
make  a  long  or  a  graceful  cast  with  either  trout  or 
salmon  rod.  "With  both  there  must  be  only  such 
strength  used  as  is  necessary  to  give  the  line  a  quick 
but  not  a  snappy  back  movement — keeping  up  the 
motion  evenly  until  the  fly  is  placed  where  you  de- 
sire it. 

The  most  difficult  attainment,  in  both  salmon  and 
trout  casting,  is  to  be  able,  with  instinctive  accuracy,  to 
measure  the  distance  traversed  by  the  backward  move- 
ment of  your  line.  If  you  begin  the  return  too  soon 
your  line  will  snap  and  thereby  endanger  your  fly  ;  if 
you  are  too  tardy  it  will  droop  and  thereby  lose  the 
continuity  of  tension  indispensable  to  a  graceful  and 
effective  forward  movement.  This  essential  art  can 
only  be  attained  by  practice.  Some  attain  it  readily  ; 
others  never; — just  as  some  measure  time  in  music 
with  unerring  accuracy,  without  a  teacher  ;  some  only 
acquire  the  art  after  protracted  drilling,  and  others 
never  acquire  it  at  all. 

There  is  almost  as  perfect  rhythm  in  fly-casting  as  in 
music.  Given  a  definite  length  of  line  and  the  expert 
can  measure  his  cast  by  his  one,  two,  three,  four,  as  ac- 
curately as  a  teacher  can  regulate  the  time  of  his  orches- 
tra by  the  movement  of  his  baton.  While  this  is  true 
in  casting  with  either  rod  it  is  most  noticeable  in  casting 
for  salmon.    The  heavy  line,  the  massive  springy  rod. 


FLY  CASTING  FOR  SALMON.  H 

and  the  great  distance  to  be  traversed,  render  each 
movement— the  lift  from  the  water,  the  backward  flight 
of  the  line,  the  return  motion,  and  the  drop  at  the 
point  desired — as  distinct  to  a  quick  perception  as  the 
beat  of  a  bar  in  music. 

But  there  are  occasions  when  it  would  not  do  to  cast 
by  count.  If  the  wind  is  strong  in  any  direction  the 
movement  of  the  line  is  perceptibly  effected ;  and  if  the 
wind  happens  to  be  at  your  back,  it  requires  great  skill 
and  care  to  counteract  its  influence  and  secure  satisfac- 
tory results.  With  such  a  wind,  unless  you  are  perfect 
master  of  the  situation,  you  will  be  apt  to  snap  off 
more  flies  in  an  hour  than  you  will  be  likely  to  lose 
legitimately  in  a  fortnight.  Nine-tenths  of  all  the  flies 
I  ever  lost  took  their  departure  before  I  learned  how  to 
cast  safely  with  a  high  wind  at  my  back. 

In  many  salmon  rivers  the  pools  are  so  placed  and 
the  general  body  of  water  is  of  such  depth  that  you  can 
always  cast  from  your  anchored  canoe.  As,  under  such 
circumstances,  there  are  no  obstructions  behind  you, 
less  care  is  required  in  keeping  your  fly  well  up  in  its 
backward  flight  than  when  casting  from  the  shore— as 
in  some  rivers  you  always  have  to  do. 

In  the  salmon  season  the  water  is  usually  well  down 
in  the  banks,  and  in  many  rivers  the  slope  from  high 
water  mark  to  the  summer  channel  is*  considerable.  In 
casting,  as  a  rule,  you  stand  near  the  water  ;  unless, 
therefore,  you  cast  high — that  is,  unless  you  keep  your 
fly  well  up  in  its  backward  flight  it  will  almost  certainly 


12  FISHING  WITH  THE  FLY. 

come  in  contact  with  a  stone  or  boulder  of  some  sort 
and  be  broken.  To  avoid  this  mishap  requires  great 
care.  You  must  keep  the  point  of  your  rod  well  up 
always — several  degrees  higher  than  when  casting  on 
the  water.  My  first  experience  in  shore-casting  where 
the  banks  had  a  precipitous  slope  cost  me  a  great  many 
pet  flies  ;  and  I  never  got  to  feel  really  "  at  home  "  in 
casting  under  such  circumstances.  It  detracts  from  the 
sport  when  your  mind  is  occupied  with  the  proper  swing 
of  the  line.  But  enough  of  ecstacy  remains  to  enable 
one  to  overlook  this  inconsiderable  drawback.  Only 
give  the  angler  an  opportunity  to  cast  from  any  sort 
of  standpoint  and  he  will  speedily  discover  the  proper 
lift  and  swing  to  overcome  any  obstacle,  and  be  happy. 
Salmon  casting — especially  the  frequency  of  the  cast 
— depends  largely  upon  the  character  of  the  water  you 
are  fishing.  If  the  pool  is  straight  and  narrow  and  the 
current  strong,  and  you  are  casting  from  a  canoe,  you 
can  so  manipulate  your  fly  as  to  render  frequent  casts 
unnecessary — the  important  thing  being  not  to  let 
your  fly  sink,  as  it  is  not  likely  to  do  in  such  a  current. 
In  large  pools  where  the  current  is  sluggish,  as  is  some- 
times the  case,  frequent  casts  are  necessary  in  order  to 
touch  it  at  every  point  with  your  fly  on  the  surface. 
Where  you  are  able  to  cast  across  a  pool,  if  the  current 
moves  with  a  moderate  force,  you  can  sweep  it  at  each 
cast  by  giving  your  rod  the  proper  motion.  This  latter 
class  of  pools  are  those  most  coveted,  because  you  can 
cover  a  great  deal  of  ground  with  very  little  effort.     If 


FLT  CASTING  FOR  SALMON.  13 

you  fall  in  with  a  pool — as  you  sometimes  will — where 
the  current  is  so  sluggish  as  to  be  almost  imperceptible, 
frequent  casts  are  unavoidable.  Without  them,  not  only 
will  your  fly  sink,  but  your  line  will  soon  acquire  a  slack 
which  not  only  gives  one  an  uncomfortable  feeling  but 
is  unsafe  in  case  of  a  rise.  The  very  first  requisite  in 
salmon  fishing  is  a  taut  line.  It  is  not  only  requisite 
for  safety,  but  without  it  it  is  impossible  to  promptly 
and  properly  recover  your  line  for  a  new  cast. 

Bub  there  is  nothing  so  tests  a  salmon  angler's  skill 
and  patience  as  to  cast  in  an  eddy  or  whirl.  No  matter 
how  carefully  or  at  what  distance  one  casts,  the  moment 
the  fly  touches  the  water  it  begins  to  come  back  upon 
you,  compelling  constant  casting  if  you  cast  at  all. 
The  result  is  a  great  deal  of  hard  work  with  very  little 
effect,  because  to  keep  a  straight  line  your  fly  must  be 
lifted  almost  the  very  moment  it  finds  a  lodgment  on 
the  surface.  In  such  a  pool  one  soon  becomes  weary 
with  his  efforts  to  place  and  hold  his  fly  in  the  desired 
position,  for  it  is  not  often  that  he  is  rewarded  by  a 
rise.  Since  my  first  experience  in  such  a  pool  I  have 
never  hankered  after  its  counterpart.  And  yet  it  was  a 
sort  of  success  in  this  way  :  Having  become  tired  cast- 
ing I  allowed  my  fly  to  go  as  it  pleased.  It  was  soon 
out  of  sight,  having  been  drawn  down  by  one  of  the 
whirls,  and  in  reeling  up  to  prevent  its  being  twisted 
around  the  rock  I  presumed  to  be  the  primary  cause  of 
the  whirl,  I  found  myself  hooked  to  a  fish  which  had 
taken  my  fly  at  least  ten  or  twelve  feet  below  the  sur- 


14  FlSffmO  WITH  THE  FLY. 

face.  When  I  first  felt  him  he  came  up  as  easily  as  a 
six-ounce  chub,  and  I  supposed  I  had  nothing  heavier 
than  a  medium  sized  trout.  But  as  soon  as  he  felt  the 
hook  and  saw  my  canoe  he  showed  his  mettle,  and  gave 
me  just  such  a  fight  as  I  might  have  expected  from  a 
twenty-23ound  salmon,  as  he  proved  to  be.  That  was 
the  first  and  last  salmon  I  ever  took  with  the  fly  so  far 
under  water.  The  rule  with  some  anglers  is  ''to  let 
the  fly  sink  a  little  "  ;  my  rule  is  never  to  let  it  sink  at 
all.  When  a  fish  strikes  I  want  to  see  him.  There  is 
no  movement  that  so  thrills  and  delights  me  as  the  rush 
of  the  salmon  for  the  fly.  To  me,  half  the  pleasure  of 
a  rise  is  lost  if  I  don't  see  the  head  and  shoulders  of 
the  kingly  fish  when  he  leaps  for  the  lure. 

The  manner  of  casting  is  almost  as  varied  as  the 
casters  themselves.  You  will  seldom  see  two  salmon 
anglers  cast  precisely  alike.  Some  cast  with  a  straight 
backward  and  forward  movement,  without  the  diver- 
gence of  a  hair.  Others  secure  a  half  sweep  to  the  line 
by  giving  the  backward  movement  over  the  left  shoul- 
der and  the  return  over  the  right,  or  vice  versa.  Still 
others  almost  invariably  cast  sideways,  or  ''under"  as 
it  is  called,  seldom  lifting  their  rod  perpendicularly. 
Some  stand  as  erect  and  motionless  as  a  statue  when 
they  cast.  Others  sway  to  and  fro  as  if  they  made  their 
body  rather  than  their  arms  do  the  work  ;  and  others 
still  push  themselves  forward  as  they  cast,  as  if  they 
were  not  sure  their  fly  would  reach  its  destination  un- 
less they  followed  it.     These,  however,  are  simple  man- 


FLY  CASTING  FOR  SALMON.  15 

nerisms.  Each  may  be  equally  expert — that  is,  equally 
successful  in  placing  his  fly  just  where  he  wants  it  and 
just  at  such  distance  as  he  please.  My  own  preference 
and  practice  is,  a  slight  sway  of  the  body  and  a  nearly 
straight  backward  and  forward  movement  of  the  line. 
There  are,  of  course,  occasions  when  a  semicircle 
sweep  of  the  line,  or  a  lateral  movement,  or  an  under 
cast  is  necessary  to  reach  some  desired  objective  point. 
All  these  movements,  when  they  are  deemed  necessary, 
will  come  from  experience  ;  but  for  unobstructed  waters 
I  prefer  a  straight  cast,  and  only  such  slight  motion  of 
the  body  as  will  give  occasional  respite  to  the  arms  ;  for 
it  is  no  boy's  play  to  so  handle  a  ponderous  salmon  rod 
for  hours  in  succession  as  to  give  the  needed  sweep  to 
an  eighty-foot  line. 

The  flies  used  for  salmon  are  more  numerous  and  varied 
than  those  used  for  trout,  and  quite  as  uncertain  and  puz- 
zling to  those  who  use  them.  I  have  taken  salmon,  as  I 
have  taken  trout,  out  of  the  same  water  within  the  same 
hour  with  flies  of  directly  opposite  hues,  and  of  shapes 
and  sizes  which  were  the  counterpart  of  nothing  '^  in  the 
heavens  above,  in  the  earth  beneath,  or  in  the  waters 
under  the  earth."  There  are,  however,  standard  flies 
which  experience  has  shown  to  be  generally  more 
"  taking "  than  others,  and  for  this  sufficient  reason 
are  always  found  in  salmon  anglers'  fly  books.  But  no 
expert  deems  any  fly  or  any  dozen  flies  invariably 
adapted  to  all  waters  and  all  conditions  of  wind  and 
weather.     It  is  superlative  nonsense,  therefore,  to  mul- 


16  FISHING  WITH  THE  FLY. 

tiply  Yarieties  indefinitely.  It  is  only  necessary  to  have 
an  "  assortment,"  gaudy  and  sombre,  large  and  small, 
but  plenty  of  them.  It  is  very  unpleasant  to  run  short 
when  you  are  two  or  three  hundred  miles  away  from 
'Hhe  shop."  Those  who  have  had  any  considerable 
experience  know  Just  what  they  want,  and  the  only  safe 
thing  for  the  novice  to  do,  when  ready  to  lay  in  his 
stock,  is  to  seek  advice  of  someone  who  knows  something 
of  what  may  be  required  in  the  waters  to  be  visited. 

And  then  let  him  go  to  the  quiet  and  roaring  rivers 
where  salmon  congregate,  experiment  with  such  flies 
as  he  has,  lure  the  fish  by  his  skilful  casts,-  strike 
quick,  fight  hard,  and  be  happy. 

Albany,  Dec.  7th,  1883. 


THE  SALMON  AND  TROUT  OF  ALASKA. 


BY 


A.    BEARDSLEE, 

Captain  U.  S.  Navy. 


From  the  great  salmon  of  the  Yukon,  to  the  tiny 
fingerlings,  which  in  innumerable  quantities  throng  in 
the  various  creeks  of  Alaska,  and  are  as  ambitious  to 
seize  a  single  salmon  egg  as  are  their  larger  brethren  to 
appropriate  great  masses  of  the  same,  however  illy  the 
bait  may  cover  and  disguise  the  hook  which  impales  it, 
there  is  not,  I  am  convinced,  an  Alaskan  fish,  which 
through  any  merit  of  its  own,  is  entitled  to  an  intro- 
duction to  the  angling  fraternity  through  the  medium 
of  this  volume,  and  to  the  companionship  of  the  beau- 
tiful f ac-similes  of  the  flies,  which  in  life  they  scorned. 

From  personal  observation  and  collected  information, 
I  am  prepared  to  accuse  all  of  the  salmon  family  which 
are  found  in  Alaska,  of  the  grave  offence  of  utterly  ig- 
noring the  fly,  either  as  food  or  plaything,  and  of  de- 
pending upon  more  gross  and  substantial  resources. 

They  are  odd  fish,  and  require  peculiar  treatment 
both  in  catching  and  discussing.  And  it  is  to  this 
cause  alone  that  they  are  indebted  for  the  honor  of 
being  made  honorary  members  of  the  gallant  baud  of 
game-fishes  of  which  this  volume  treats. 


18  FISHING  WITH  THE  FLY. 

I  have  selected  them  as  the  subject  of  my  contribu- 
tion, because  a  single  glance  at  the  array  of  well-known 
names  of  those  who  are  to  be  my  co-contributors,  con- 
vinced me  that  if  I  wished  to  present  any  new,  inter- 
esting, or  valuable  facts  upon  any  icthyological  subjects 
within  my  range,  I  would  have  to  travel  well  out  of  the 
ordinary  tracks,  and  go  prospecting  in  some  '^far 
countree." 

This  I  have  done,  and  I  feel  confident  that  I  alone 
of  the  contributors  have  been  "  forced  by  circumstances 
over  which  I  had  no  control,"  into  a  situation  where 
the  obtaining  of  my  notes  became  pleasure  instead  of 
toil. 

The  notes  which  will  be  woven  into  this  paper  are 
not  all  of  them  entirely  new.  Some  have  entered 
into  a  series  of  letters,  which  over  the  signature 
"  Piseco  "  have  appeared  in  the  columns  of  the  Forest 
and  Stream,  during  1879-80-81.  Through  the  courtesy 
of  the  editor  of  that  journal,  I  am  permitted  to  again 
make  use  of  them. 

I  have  preferred  a  grave  charge  against  the  salmon 
and  trout  of  Alaska ;  it  is  but  just  that  I  should  ex- 
plain the  basis  upon  which  it  is  founded,  and  endeavor 
to  establish  my  claim  to  be  somewhat  of  an  authority 
on  the  subject. 

Erom  the  middle  of  June,  1879,  to  the  latter  part  of 
September,  1880,  I,  as  the  commander  of  the  U.  S. 
ship  of  war  Jamestown,  was  stationed  in  the  Territory 
of  Alaska,  with  general  instructions  to  restore  and 


THE  SALMON  AND  TROUT  OF  ALASKA.         19 

preserve  order  among  the  incongruous  collections  of 
Whites,  Creoles,  and  Indians  of  which  the  inhabitants 
of  that  forsaken  country  was  composed. 

My  command  was  moored  in  Sitka  Harbor,  but  dur- 
ing the  two  summers  and  autumns  of  my  sojourn,  my 
duties  called  upon  me  to  make  frequent  trips  of  from 
ten  to  two  hundred  miles,  to  various  portions  of  the 
Territory. 

These  trips  were  made  in  small  steamers  which  I 
hired,  steam  launches  and  boats  of  the  sliip,  and  In- 
dian canoes,  and  in  them  I  explored  many  of  the  straits 
and  sounds  which  separate  the  islands  of  the  Alexander 
Archipelago. 

Naturally  fond  of  fishing  and  gunning,  my  Orvis 
rods,  with  full  assortment  of  flies,  all  gear  necessary 
for  salt-water  fishing,  and  my  rifle  and  shot-gun,  were 
my  inseparable  companions ;  and  aftei  days  spent  in 
explorations,  sometimes  of  bays  and  sounds  never  before 
entered  by  white  men,  and  in  one  case  of  a  large  bay 
forty  miles  deep  by  fifteen  broad,  existing  where  the 
latest  charts  showed  solid  land  only,  my  evenings  were 
spent  poring  over  works  on  natural  history,  icthyology, 
and  ornithology,  and  jotting  down  in  my  note-book 
descriptions  of  my  finds.  Such  jolly  times  !  One  day 
a  mineral  lode,  another  great  flocks  of  ptarmigan,  an- 
other a  bear,  a  mountain  sheep,  or  spme  new  fish — gave 
me  something  to  dream  of. 

The  Alexander  Archipelago,  of  which  Baranoff, 
Kruzofl,  and  Tchitagoff  Islands  are  the  principal,  is 


20  FIBIIING  WITH  THE  FLY. 

separated  from  the  coast  by  Chatham  Strait,  which,  be- 
ginning at  the  southward  as  a  continuation  of  Puget 
Sound  reaches  to  above  60°  north  at  Chilkhat ;  it  is 
from  three  to  ten  miles  wide,  deep  and  steep,  too, 
throughout,  bordered  on  the  coast  side  by  high,  heayily 
timbered,  snow-clad  mountains,  and  on  the  other  by 
high  wooded  islands.  On  both  sides,  many  of  the  ravines 
are  occupied  by  immense  glaciers,  from  which  flow  icy 
streams,'  the  birthplace  of  salmon. 

Running  nearly  east  and  west  there  are  several  straits 
and  sounds  connecting  Chatham  Strait  with  the  Pacific 
Ocean,  of  which  Peril  Strait,  Icy  Strait,  and  Cross 
Sound,  are  the  principal.  These,  too,  are  bordered,  as 
is  Chatham  Straits,  and  are  the  homes  of  glaciers  and 
glacial  streams. 

Many  of  these  streams  I  have  personally  fished,  and 
among  those  under  my  command  were  several  with  kin- 
dred tastes,  and  I  became  possessed  of  the  results  of 
their  experience. 

I  have  read  all  that  I  could  find  of  works  on 
Alaska,  and  since  my  return  have  naturally  conversed 
much  with  every  one  whom  I  have  met  who  had  also  an 
Alaskan  episode  in  his  life,  and  have  collected  testimony 
on  the  point  at  issue.  One  and  all  affirm  that  my  ex- 
perience has  been  theirs,  and  the  most  strenuous  efforts 
with  well  selected  flies  have  failed  to  record  a  single 
capture  of  trout  or  salmon.  The  first  bit  of  evidence  I 
collected  is  worth  recording.  When  the  news  that  the 
Yankees  had  purchased  Alaska,  and  thus  become  own- 


THE  8ALM0N  AND  TROUT  OF  ALASKA.        21 

ers  of  the  land  north  as  well  as  south  of  British  Co- 
lumbia, was  communicated  to  the  Scotch  Admiral  of 
the  English  squadron  at  Victoria,  Vancouyer's  Island, 
he  ejaculated,  "  Dom  the  country  !  let  'em  have  it ;  the 
Mausted  saumon  wonH  rise  to  a  fioi."  Such  was  our 
united  experience  and  yerdict. 

Of  course,  as  we  caught  no  end  of  them  (trout  and 
salmon)  there  were  baits  which  would  seduce  them,  and 
these  were,  for  the  trout,  salmon  roe,  and  for  the  salmon, 
liye  herrings. 

There  was  no  poetry  in  our  trout  fishing,  for  compared 
with  salmon  roe  in  slippery,  sticky,  slimy  chunks,  fish 
worms  are  aesthetically  dainty. 

There  are  seyeral  little  lakes  and  more  streams  in  the 
vicinity  of  Sitka  ;  some  within  reach  for  a  day's  fish- 
ing, and  some  within  an  hour's.  The  principal  of  these 
are  Piseco  Lake  and  stream,  back  of  and  running 
through  the  town  ;  Indian  River  and  pond,  Saw-Mill 
creek  and  lakes,  from  one  to  fiye  miles  to  the  eastward  ; 
the  Redoubt  riyer,  lake,  and  fall,  seyen  miles  to  the 
southward  ;  and  a  nameless  lake  and  outlet  on  Kruzoff 
Island,  the  lake  embedded  in  a  deep  yalley,  one  side  of 
which  is  formed  by  the  foot-hills  of  Mount  Edgecomb, 
a  noble,  eternally  snow-clad  extinct  yolcano.  In  all  of 
these  trout  or  salmon  are  abundant  in  the  season ;  in 
some  both,  and  in  some  are  found  species  which  do  not 
exist  in  others. 

At  the  *^  RedouW  I  belieye  that  all  yarieties  and 
species  are  found.     The  place  is  named  from  a  huge 


22  FISHING  WITH  THE  FLY. 

dam  which  the  Russians  built  across  the  mouth  of  a 
deep  and  wide  ravine,  thus  forming  a  large  lake  of  the 
river  which  here  empties  into  the  sea.  The  dam  is 
provided  with  a  number  of  salmon  gates  and  traps. 
From  the  first  run  to  the  last,  every  passing  school  leaves 
here  its  tribute,  seduced  by  the  proximity  of  the  beau- 
tiful lake;  which  tribute,  duly  smoked  or  salted,  is 
barrelled  for  the  San  Francisco  market  by  a  very  "  lone 
fisherman,"  a  Russian  who  for  many  years,  without 
other  companionship  than  his  klootchman  (Indian  wife) 
and  dogs,  has  devoted  his  life  to  the  business. 

If  in  this  paper  I  make  an  occasional  blunder,  by 
transposition,  or  misapplication  of  the  terms  "specie" 
and  "  variety,"  or  fail  on  a  scientific  nomenclature,  I  beg 
that  it  will  be  remembered  that  my  claim  is  not  to  be 
an  authority  on  icthyology,  when  such  names  are  neces- 
sary, but  on  Alaska  fish,  which  get  along  very  well 
with  their  English,  Indian,  or  Russian  names. 

I  find  in  my  note-book  memoranda  of  the  capture  of 
lathy master-signatus,  cJiirus  deccagramus,  and  even  a 
cotlus-polyacanthocephalousy  but  had  not  Professor 
Bean  instructed  me,  I  should  have  continued  (and  I 
believe  I  did)  to  call  the  first  two  after  the  fish  they 
most  resembled,  viz.,  rock  cod  and  sea  bass ;  and  of 
the  last  named  I  have  lost  and  forgotten  the  descrip- 
tion. But  we  can  spare  him ;  the  salmon  and  trout 
will,  I  feel  sure,  furnish  all  the  material  needed,  and  I 
will  confine  myself  to  them. 


THE  SALMON  AND  TROUT  OF  ALASKA,         23 
THE   SALMOl^. 

Five  species  of  salmon  have  been  identified  as  found 
in  Alaska  ;  these  are  : 

The  Oncorhynchus  Choiiicha, 
The  Oncorhynchus  Keta, 
The  Oncorhynchus  Nerka, 
The  Oncorhynchus  Kisutch, 
The  Oncorhynchus  Garbosha. 

I  am  indebted  to  Professor  Bean  for  the  above  list. 
In  it  I  recognize  some  familiar  Kussian  names,  and  I 
will  supplement  the  nomenclature.  The  '^ Keta"  is 
the  big  hump-backed  salmon  of  the  Yukon,  sometimes 
attaining  a  weight  of  sixty  pounds  ;  the  Nerha  is  also 
called  by  the  Kussians  Crassna-rehia,  or  red-fleshed ; 
and  the  distinction  is  well  made,  for  compared  with  it, 
the  flesh  of  the  other  species  seems  to  fade  into  pink ; 
the  ^^ Kisutch ^^  or  "black  throat"  is  so  called  on  ac- 
count of  the  intense  blackness  of  the  roof  of  the  mouth 
and  throat ;  the  flesh  is  lighter  red  than  the  Nerhas, 
but  more  so  than  any  other  species,  and  as  a  table  fish 
it  excels  all  others,  bringing  twice  the  price  at  retail ; 
the  Garloslia  is  the  small  hump-back,  and  strikingly 
resembles  the  "  red  fish  "  of  Idaho.  This  is  the  only 
salmon  that  I  am  sure  ascends  any  of  the  streams  near 
Sitka,  except  at  the  Redoubt,  where  the  Kisutch  and 
Crassna-rehia  are  taken  in  late  August  and  early  Sep- 
tember.    The  common  name  for  the  garbosha  is  the 


24  FISHING  WITH  TEE  FLY. 

"  dog  salmon,"  and  a  more  hideous  object  than  one  of 
them  as  found  swimming  listlessly  or  dying  in  one  of 
the  pools,  it  is  hard  to  conceive.  I  find  this  note  of 
description  :  ''Aug.  26th. — In  a  shallow  pool  I  saw  a 
fish  some  two  feet  long,  feebly  struggling  as  though 
he  were  trying  to  push  himself  ashore.  I  picked  him 
up  and  laid  him  on  the  grass.  A  sicker  fish  never  con- 
tinued to  wag  his  tail ;  his  skin  was  yellow,  picked  out 
with  green  and  blue  spots,  from  an  inch  to  three  in 
diameter ;  and  one  on  his  side  was  about  an  inch  wide 
and  six  inches  long,  bleeding  and  raw  as  though  gnawed 
by  mice.  One  eye  was  gone,  one  gill  cover  eaten, 
through,  and  every  fin  and  the  tail  were  but  ragged 
bristles,  all  web  between  the  rays  having  disap- 
peared." 

The  first  run  of  the  salmon  is  well  worth  description. 
About  the  middle  of  May,  varying  from  year  to  year 
by  a  few  days  only,  the  inhabitants  of  dull,  sleepy  old 
Sitka  experience  a  sensation,  and  are  aroused  from  the 
lethargy  in  which  they  have  existed  through  the  long 
winter.  The  word  spreads  like  wildfire,  the  salmon 
are  coming  !  Everybody  rushes'  to  the  heights  which 
furnish  prospect,  and  strain  their  eyes  for  confirma- 
tion. 

One  of  our  sailors,  musically  inclined,  paraphrased 
very  neatly  the  old  song,  *'  The  Campbells  are  Coming! 
huzza  !  huzza  I  "  and  achieved  fame  by  portraying  the 
emotions  nightly  under  the  lee  of  the  forecastle. 

So  good  an  outlook  has  been  kept  by  the  keen-eyed 


THE  SALMON  AND  TROUT  OF  ALASKA.        25 

Indians,  and  the  Creole  boy  in  the  belfry  of  the  Greek 
church,  that  when  first  the  glad  tidings  are  announced, 
the  fish  are  many  miles  away,  and  no  signs  of  their  ad- 
vent visible  to  the  unpracticed  eye.  Far  away  to  the 
southward,  there  hangs  all  winter  a  dense  black  bank, 
the  accumulation  of  the  constant  uprising  of  vapor  from 
the  warm  surface  of  the  Kuro-siwo,  or  Japanese  Gulf 
Stream,  which  washes  the  shores  of  this  archipelago ; 
condensed  by  the  cold  winds  sweeping  over  the  snow- 
clad  mountains  to  the  northward,  it  is  swept  by  them, 
and  piled  up  as  far  as  the  eye  can  reach,  covering  and 
hiding  the  southern  horizon  as  with  a  pall. 

Presently  our  glasses  reveal  bright  flashes  upon  the 
face  of  this  curtain  ;  and  soon,  to  the  naked  eye,  it  ap- 
pears as  though  the  whole  horizon  had  been  encircled 
with  a  coral  reef,  against  which  the  dashing  waves  were 
being  shattered  into  foamy  breakers.  The  breakers  ad- 
vance, and  soon  among  them  we  discern  black,  rapidly- 
moving  forms,  and  here  our  previous  nautical  experience 
comes  into  play,  and,  "Holy  mither,  d'ye  mind  the  say 
pigs  ! "  as  shouted  by  Paddy  Sullivan,  the  captain  of  the 
afterguard,  explains  most  graphically  the  phenomenon. 

The  salmon  are  coming,  and  witli  them,  among,  and 
after  them,  a  host  of  porpoises  ;  an  army  so  great,  that 
an  attempt  to  estimate  in  numbers  would  be  futile. 

The  Bay  and  Sound  of  Sitka  are  dotted  with  many 
beautiful,  well- wooded  islands ;  between  them,  the 
channels  are  deep  and  blue,  and  these  are  soon  thronged 
by  the  fleeing  salmon  and  their  pursuers ;  the  harbor  is 


26  FISHING  WITH  THE  FLY. 

soon  reached  ;  but  it  does  not  prove  one  of  safety,  for 
although  there  are  immense  flats  covered  only  at  half  to 
whole  tide,  where  the  salmon  could,  and  the  porpoises 
could  not  go,  the  former  avoid  them,  and,  clinging  to  the 
deep  water,  seek  vainly  the  protection  of  our  ship  and 
boats,  which  do  not  deter  the  porpoises  in  the  slight- 
est degree.  Tor  two  or  three  days,  our  eyes,  and  at  night, 
our  ears,  tell  us  that  the  warfare,  or  rather  massacre,  is 
unceasing  ;  then  there  comes  an  interval  of  several  days, 
during  which  there  are  no  salmon  nor  porpoises. 

I  had  formed  an  idea,  a  wrong  one,  that  the  presence 
of  salmon  would  be  made  manifest  by  the  leaping  of  the 
fish ;  on  the  contrary,  were  we  to  judge  by  this  sign 
alone,  but  very  few  had  visited  us. 

The  first  school  had  hardly  gotten  fairly  into  the 
harbor,  before  I,  with  others,  was  in  pursuit. 

The  cannery  boats,  and  Indians,  with  their  seines, 
and  I  with  a  trolling  line  and  fly-rod. 

A  single  fish  apparently,  was  at  intervals  of  perhaps  a 
minute,  leaping  near  a  point.  Indian  Dick,  one  of  my 
staff,  excitedly  pointed  that  way,  and  urged  me  to  go. 
^^ There  I  titer e  !  sawmo  sugataUeen  "  (plenty).  I  was  in- 
clined to  look  elsewhere,  or  wait  for  a  larger  school ;  but 
Dick  remonstrated,  ''Man  see  one  fish  jump,  sir,  may 
he  got  thousand  donH  jump,  he  under, "^^  And  Dick 
was  right ;  but  a  very  small  percentage  leap  from  the 
water,  of  which  I  became  more  fully  convinced  when  I 
went  with  Tom  McCauley,  head  fisherman  of  the  can- 
nery, on  seining  trips,  or  rather  on  a  seining  trip,  for 


THE  8ALM0N  AND  TROUT  OF  ALASKA.        27 

the  affair  disgusted  me  ;  and,  as  with  my  experience  of 
Spanish  bull-fighting,  one  trial  was  enough.  Imagine 
so  many  fish  that  tons  were  the  units  used  in  estimating, 
penned  up  by  the  walls  of  the  seines,  into  an  enclosure, 
massed  so  solidly  that  five  Indians,  striking  rapidly  at 
random  into  the  mass,  with  short-handled  gaff  hooks,  at 
such  rate  that,  upon .  one  day's  fishing,  this  boat, 
manned  by  eight  Indians  and  one  white  man,  secured 
tliirteen  tons  of  marketable  fish.  It  was  bloody,  nasty 
butchery,  and  sickened  me.  Not  a  fish  attempted  to 
leap  out  of  the  net. 

McOauley  supplied  me  with  some  data,  from  his  point 
of  view. 

^^ About  the  middle  of  June,  the  fish  are  plentiful 
enough  to  start  the  cannery,  and  the  seas07i  lasts  from 
ten  to  tioelve  weeks"  He  has  observed  ^'  Seven  different 
hinds  of  salmon,  all  of  which  are  good  for  canning  and 
for  the  table ;  but  two  species  which  come  latest  are  the 
most  valuable,  the  flesh  being  very  red  and  rich  with  oil" 
(Kisutch  and  Crassna  Kebia)  ;  that  *'  all  of  the  salmon 
*  dog '  more  or  less,  and  that  the  dogging  begins  imme- 
diately after  they  have  attempted  to  enter  the  streams, 
not  before  Augtist ;  that  after  this  process  has  begun 
(and  he  discovered  it  in  fish  which,  to  my  inexperienced 
eyes  showed  no  signs  of  it)  the  value  for  canning  was 
depreciated,"  and  all  such  he  rejected,  and  gave  to  the 
flock  of  poor  Indians,  who,  in  their  canoes,  followed  us 
to  secure  them.  If  McCauley's  ideas  are  correct,  the 
Alaska  salmon  caught  in  salt  water,  should  be  superior 


28  FISHING  WITH  THE  FLY. 

to  those  of  the  Columbia  River  and  elsewhere,  caught  in 
brackish  water.  During  the  season  of  1879  there  were 
packed  at  this  cannery,  144,000  lbs.  of  fish ;  the 
largest  catch  of  any  one  day  was  36,000  lbs.  (oyer  16 
tons)  ;  the  greatest  quantity  canned,  9,000  lbs.  ;  the 
largest  fish  obtained,  51  lbs.  ;  and  the  average  weight 
12  lbs.  The  cost  of  the  fish  can  be  estimated  at 
less  than  one  cent  per  pound.  Just  what  ^* dogging" 
is,  I  don't  know.  McCauley's  opinion,  which  was 
shared  by  many  others  familiar  with  the  fishing,  is  that 
it  is  a  sickness  indicated  by  a  change  of  form  and 
color,  produced  by  contact  with  fresh  water,  and  that 
the  most  hideously  hump-backed,  hook -jawed,  red  and 
purple  garbosha,  was  once  a  straight- backed,  comely 
fish ;  which,  if  true,  upsets  some  theories.  All  I 
know  about  it  is,  that  previous  to  the  advent  of  the 
garboshas,  in  August,  no  change  of  form  and  color  is 
observable  in  any  of  the  fish,  none  of  which  enter  the 
streams.  During  August,  at  the  same  time  and  place 
in  the  creeks,  there  can  be  seen  garbosha  salmon  in  all 
stages  of  the  transformation,  and  the  change  in  form 
and  color  is  coincident.  Some  are  silvery  and  nearly 
straight;  others  tarnished,  and  with  slight  elevation 
of  back ;  others  red,  with  greater  protuberance  ;  and 
finally,  some  purple-red,  with  fully  developed  humps, 
which  more  than  double  their  height  above  the  median 
line  ;  and  these  monsters  the  Indians  like  best,  and  say 
that  they  are  better  for  smoking  than  any  other. 
Another  idea  which  I  had  imbibed  in  regard  to  salmon. 


THE  SALMON  AND  TROUT  OF  ALASKA,        29 

fjecame  greatly  modified  by  my  experience.  I  thought, 
and  I  believe  many  do,  that  the  instinct  which  prompts 
the  salmon  to  run  in  from  the  sea,  is  to  reach,  by  the 
shortest  route,  the  place  of  birth  ;  and  that  they  make 
a  straight  wake  from  the  ocean  to  the  mouth  of  their  na- 
tive creeks  ;  and  that  while  impelled  by  this  instinct, 
they  refrain  altogether  from  food.  In  all  of  this,  I  think 
that  I  was  mistaken  ;  and  that  the  fish  which  begin  to 
swarm  in  Sitka  Harbor  in  May,  and  continue  coming 
and  going  for  nearly  three  months  before  any  enter  the 
stream,  are  simply  visitors,  which,  on  their  way  north, 
are  driven  in  to  seek  shelter  from  the  porpoises  and 
other  enemies. 

That  they  feed  at  this  time,  I  have  plenty  of  evi- 
dence. We  caught  small  ones,  on  hand-lines  baited 
with  venison.  Numbers  were  taken  trolling,  using  any 
ordinary  spoon.  I  had  with  me  pickerel,  bass,  and  lake 
trout  spoons,  of  brass  and  silvery  surface.  All  were  suc- 
cessful, the  silvery  ones  the  most  so. 

And  I  had  many  good  strikes  upon  spectaMUs  or 
salmon  trout,  of  six  to  eight  inches,  spun  on  a  gang  and 
trolled.  The  Indians  in  Chatham  Strait  catch  a  great 
many  upon  hooks  baited  with  live  herring ;  these  are 
attached  to  short  lines,  which  are  fastened  to  duck- 
shaped  wooden  buoys,  and  allowed  to  float  away  from 
the -canoe.  I  have  myself  been  present  at  the  capture  of 
a  number  in  this  manner. 

The  Greek  Priest,  and  companies  of  the  least  poor  of 
the  Creoles,  own  seine  boats,  which  go  out  daily ;  and 


30  FISHTNO  WITH  THE  FLY. 

after  every  fair  day's  seining  the  sandy  beach  in  front  of 
Russian  town  presents  a  picturesque  appearance,  dotted 
as  it  is  with  heaps  of  from  one  to  three  tons  of  salmon, 
whose  silvery  sheen  reflects  the  light  of  the  bonfires, 
around  which,  knives  in  hand,  squat  all  the  old  squaws 
and  children,  cleaning  on  shares.  Nearly  all  of  the  fish 
taken  by  them  are  smoked  for  winter's  use. 

Every  glacial  stream  in  Alaska  is,  in  its  season,  full 
of  salmon,  alive  and  dead.  One,  which  for  want  of  a 
better,  was  given  my  name,  and  appears  on  the  charts 
as  Beardslee  River,  I  will  describe  ;  for  in  it  I  saw,  for 
the  first  time,  that  which  had  been  described  to  me, 
but  which  I  had  doubted ;  a  stream  so  crowded  with 
fish  that  one  could  hardly  wade  it  and  not  step  on  them ; 
this  and  other  as  interesting  sights  fell  to  me  that 
pleasant  August  day. 

As  we,  in  our  little  steamer,  neared  William  Henry 
Bay,  situated  on  the  west  side  of  Chatham  Strait,  and  an 
indentation  of  Baranoff Island,  we  found  ourselves  in  a 
pea-green  sea,  dotted  here  and  there  with  the  backs  of 
garbosha  salmon  ;  the  fish,  which  were  of  the  few  that 
had  survived  the  crisis  of  reproduction,  having  drifted 
out  of  the  bay,  and  with  their  huge  humps  projecting, 
were  swimming  aimlessly,  and  apparently  blindly  (for 
after  anchoring,  they  would  run  against  our  boats,  and 
directly  into  hands  held  out  to  catch  them),  in  -the 
brackish  surface  water  ;  made  so  and  given  its  peculiar 
color  by  the  water  of  Beardslee  River,  which  arising  at 
the  foot  of  a  glacier,  had  been  fed  by  rivulets  from 


THE  SALMON  AND  TROUT  OF  ALASKA.         31, 

others  on  its  course  to  the  sea,  and  through  its  lower 
specific  gravity,  rested  upon  the  salt  water.  These  sick 
salmon  were  so  plentiful  that  I  tliought  that  a  large  per- 
centage had  lived  and  escaped  the  danger,  but  upon 
landing  at  the  mouth  of  the  river,  saw  that  I  was  mis- 
taken. For  several  miles  the  river  meanders  through 
an  alluvial  flat,  the  moraine  of  receded  glaciers.  The 
moraine  was  covered  with  a  thick  growth  of  timothy 
and  wild  barley,  some  standing  six  feet  in  height ; 
much  more  pressed  flat  by  layers,  three  and  four 
deep,  of  dead  salmon,  which  had  been  left  by  the 
waters  falling.  Thousands  of  gulls  and  fish  crows  were 
feeding  upon  the  eyes  and  entrails  of  these  fish,  and  in 
the  soft  mud  innumerable  tracks  of  bears  and  other 
animals  were  interspersed  with  bodiless  heads  of  salmon, 
showing  that  they,  too,  had  attended  the  feast.  I  waded 
the  river  for  over  two  miles,  and  the  scene  was  always 
the  same.  That  wade  was  one  to  be  remembered.  In 
advance  of  me  generally,  but  checked  at  times  by  shoal 
water,  there  rushed  a  struggling  and  splashing  mass  of 
salmon,  and  when  through  the  shoaling,  or  by  turning 
a  short  corner,  I  got  among  them,  progress  was  almost 
impossible  ;  they  were  around  me,  under  me,  and  once 
when,  through  stepping  on  one  I  fell,  I  fancy  over  me. 
All  were  headed  up  stream,  and  I  presumed,  ascending, 
until,  while  resting  on  a  dry  rock,  I  noticed  that  many, 
although  headed  up,  were  actually  slowly  drifting  down 
stream. 

In  many  pools  that  I  passed,  the  gravel  bottom  was 


32  FISIIINO  WITH  THE  FLT. 

hollowed  out  into  great  wallows,  from  which,  as  I  ap- 
proached, crowds  of  salmon  would  dart ;  and  I  could 
see  that  the  bottom  was  thickly  covered  with  eggs,  and 
feasting  on  them  were  numbers  of  immense  salmon  trout. 

I  saw  frequently  the  act  of  spawning ;  and  I  saw  once, 
a  greedy  trout  rush  at  a  female  salmon,  seize  the  exud- 
ing ova,  and  tear  it  away,  and  I  thought  that  perhaps 
in  some  such  rushes,  lay  the  explanation  of  the  wounds 
which  so  frequently  are  found  on  the  female  salmon's 
belly  after  spawning. 

At  first,  I  thought  there  were  two  species  of  salmon 
in  the  creek  ;  one  unmistakably  the  hideous  garbosha, 
the  other  a  dark  straight-backed  fish  ;  but  upon  exam- 
ining quite  a  number  of  each  variety  which  I  had  picked 
up,  I  found  that  all  the  hump-backed  fish  were  males, 
and  the  others  all  females ;  that  is,  all  that  I  examined  ; 
but  as  they  were  all  spent  fish,  I  could  not  be  sure.  I 
therefore  shot  quite  a  number  of  livelier  ones,  and  found 
confirmation. 

I  saw  one  female  that  was  just  finishing  spawning. 
She  lay  quiet,  as  though  faint,  for  a  couple  of  minutes, 
then  began  to  topple  slowly  over  on  to  her  side,  recovered 
herself,  and  then,  as  though  suddenly  startled  from  a 
deep  sleep,  darted  forward,  and  thrust  herself  half  of 
her  length  out  of  the  water,  upon  a  gravel  bar,  and  con- 
tinued to  work  her  way  until  she  was  completely  out  of 
water,  and  there  I  left  her  to  die. 

A  very  large  proportion  of  the  fish  were  more  or  less 
bruised  and  discolored  ;  and  upon  nearly  all  there  ex- 


THE  SALMON  AND  TROUT  OF  ALASKA.         33 

tended  over  the  belly  a  fungoid  growth  resembling 
rough  yellow  blotting  paper. 

The  size  of  the  fish  was  quite  uniform,  ranging  from 
two  feet  to  thirty  inches. 

But  that  I  had  seen  the  living  spent  fish  in  the  bay,  I 
could  have  readily  believed  the  truth  of  the  impression 
of  many,  that  the  act  of  spawning  terminates  the  life  of 
the  salmon  of  the  Pacific  coast. 

One  more  point  on  the  salmon,  and  I  will  leave  them. 

Upon  our  first  arrival,  we  all  indulged  very  heartily 
upon  them,  and  in  two  or  three  days,  a  new  disease  made 
its  appearance  among  us.  A  number  of  us  were  seized 
with  very  severe  gripes  and  cramps,  and  these  lasted,  in 
all  cases,  for  several  days,  and  in  some  for  a  much  longer 
period,  two  of  the  men  becoming  so  reduced  that  it 
was  necessary  to  send  them  to  hospital.  The  direct 
cause,  our  doctor  ascertained,  was  the  diet  of  salmon  to 
which  we  had  taken ;  and  by  regulating  and  reducing 
the  consumption,  the  difficulties  were  checked. 

In  conclusion,  I  would  say  that  I  have  made  every 
effort  that  would  naturally  occur  to  a  fisherman  to  take 
Alaska  salmon  with  flies,  of  which  I  had  good  assort- 
ment, and  never  got  a  rise. 

ALASKA  TROUT. 

I  am  indebted  to  Professor  Tarleton  H.  Bean  for  a 

classification  of  the  various  trout,  of  which  specimens 

had  been  duly  bottled  and  labelled,  during  our  stay  in 

Alaska.     I  had  fancied,  from  differences  in  the  mark- 

3 


34  FISHING  WITH  THE  FLY. 

ings,  that  I  hdidifive  species  at  the  least,  but  Bean  ruth- 
lessly cut  the  number  down  to  three,  viz.  : 

Salvelina  Malma,  or  SpedabiliSy  or  Bairdii. 

Salmo  Gardneri,  and 

Sahno  Purpuratus,  or  Clark's  trout. 
.  The  first  named,  called  commonly  by  us  the  salmon 
trout,  was  abundant  in  all  of  the  streams,  from  about 
middle  of  June  until  middle  of  September,  evidently 
timing  their  arrival  and  departure  by  the  movements  of 
the  salmon,  upon  whose  eggs  they  live.  I  have  noted, 
on  June  1st,  "No  salmon  trout  yet  in  any  of  the 
streams.  Several  fine,  large  ones  captured  by  the  In- 
dians in  nets  set  in  sea."  Ten  days  after,  the  streams 
•were  full  of  them,  and  in  the  earlier  part  of  the  interim 
many  would  run  into  the  pools  of  the  low^er  parts  with 
the  flooding  tide,  and  out  again  on  the  ebb. 

When  they  left  us  in  September,  it  is  probable  that 
they  migrated  south,  for  in  a  letter  to  Forest  and 
Stream,  dated  Portland,  Oregon,  September  28,  a  cor- 
respondent states  that,  in  that  month,  "there  begins  to 
appear  in  the  streams  near  the  Columbia  river,  a  trout," 
whose  description  tallies  exactly  with  that  of  the  spec- 
tahilis,  except  that  the  correspondent  speaks  of  their 
affording /7^e  sport  with  the  fly  ;  this  the  trout  while  in 
Alaska  fails  to  do.  At  first,  the  spectaMlis  affect  the 
rapids,  but  after  a  few  days  seek  the  deep  pools,  where 
they  gather  in  great  numbers,  and  bite  ravenously  on 
hooks  covered  with  spawn  and  sunk  to  the  bottom. 
Occasionally,  "when  spav/n  was  out,  we  used  a  bit  of  fresh 


THE  SALMON  AND  TROUT  OF  ALASKA.         35 

yenison ;  but  at  the  best  tliey  cared  little  for  it,  and 
when  the  blood  became  soaked  out,  the  bait  was  useless. 
Although  fairly  gamy  when  hooked,  fishing  for  these 
trout  was  but  a  poor  substitute,  for  one  who  had  felt  and 
remembered  the  thrills  caused  by  sudden  strikes  of  our 
Adirondack  fish.  I  have  often  when  pool-fishing,  seen 
them  leisurely  approach  the  bait,  and  nibble  at  it  as 
a  dainty,  full-fed  kitten  will  at  a  bit  of  meat,  and  when 
one  did  get  the  hook,  we  found  it  out  only  by  a  slight 
resistance  to  the  series  of  light  twitches  which  it  was  ne- 
cessary to  give  it.  They  have  evidently  been  taught  by 
experience  that  salmon  roe  is  not  apt  to  attempt  escape. 
The  usual  size  of  the  fish  ranged  from  six  to  twelve 
inches — now  and  then  one  larger.  The  largest  taken  by 
any  of  us,  near  Sitka,  fell  victim  to  my  "  salmon  spawn 
fly,"  and  gave  my  little  Orvis  rod  half  an  hour's  good 
work.  It  measured  twenty-one  inches,  but  was  very 
light  for  the  length,  weighing  but  two  and  three-quar- 
ter pounds.  At  the  Eedoubt  river,  much  larger  ones 
were  taken ;  and  two  which  I  shot  in  Beardslee  river 
were  over  two  feet  in  length  ;  how  much  they  weighed 
I  never  found  out,  for  their  surroundings  of  sick  and 
dying  salmon,  upon  whose  eggs  they  were  feeding,  prej- 
udiced me  against  them  and  I  left  them. 

In  shape  and  color  the  spectabilis  vary  greatly,  both 
factors  depending  upon  the  length  of  time  they  have 
been  in  fresh  water.  When  fresh  run,  they  are  long  and 
lean,  shaped  somewhat  like  the  lake  trout  of  Adiron- 
dack lakes.      The  colors  are  dark  lustrous  olive-green 


36  FISHING  WITH  THE  FLT, 

back,  growing  lighter  as  the  median  line  is  approached, 
and  blending  into  a  silvery  gray  tint,  which  pales  to  a 
pure  white  on  the  belly ;  the  green  portion  is  sprinkled 
with  golden  specks ;  the  flesh  is  hard,  and  very  good  for 
the  table.  After  a  very  short  sojourn  in  the  creek, 
bright  crimson  specks  appear  among  the  golden,  which, 
howeyer,  fade  to  a  pale  yellow ;  the  lustre  of  the  green 
disappears,  they  become  heavier,  but  the  flesh  becomes 
soft  and  uneatable,  and  the  skin  is  covered  with  slime. 
Salmon  trout  taken  late  in  August  and  early  in  Septem- 
ber, were  full  of  ripe  ova. 

Professor  Bean  placed  some  fish,  that  had  been  taken 
in  salt  water,  into  a  bucket  of  fresh,  and  the  crimson 
spots  made  their  appearance  in  less  than  a  day. 

When  fully  decked  with  these,  and  fattened,  they 
resembled  our  fontinalis  greatly — the  head,  however, 
being  somewhat  larger,  and  the  tail  less  square. 

Salmo  GardnerL  My  acquaintance  with  this  species 
is  very  limited.  The  first  one  that  I  saw  I  took  in 
Sawmill  Creek,  well  up  to  the  head,  in  September, 
1879.  Seeing  that  it  differed  greatly  from  the  speda- 
iilis,  I  preserved  it  in  alcohol,  and  it  was  subsequently 
identified  by  Professor  Bean.  It  measured  a  trifle  over 
ten  inches,  and  was  very  plump,  weighing  seven  and  a 
quarter  ounces.  In  my  notes,  I  describe  it  thus  : 
"  Body,  dark  green  on  back,  but  in  general  colors  very 
much  like  a  steel  head  or  quinnat  salmon  ;  covered  with 
round,  black  spots,  from  one-sixteenth  to  one-eighth 
inch  in  diameter ;  these  extend  considerably  below  the 


THE  SALMON  AND  TROUT  OF  ALASKA.        37 

median  line,  and  the  tail  and  dorsal  fins  are  covered 
with  them  ;  the  second  dorsal  adipose,  but  less  so  than 
that  of  the  fontinalis,  having  a  slight  show  of  mem- 
brane, on  which  there  are  four  spots  ;  ventral  and  anal 
fins,  yellowish  in  centre,  bordered  with  red  ;  belly,  dull 
white  ;  tail,  nearly  square  ;  scales,  quite  large,  about 
the  size  of  those  of  a  fingerling  chub  ;  fiesh,  firm  ;  and 
skin,  not  slimy.     No  signs  of  ova  or  milt." 

On  the  28th  of  April,  1880,  I  made  note  :  "  The 
first  salmon  of  the  season  made  their  debut  to-day — 
that  is,  if  they  are  salmon,  which  I  doubt. 

"Five  beauties,  from  thirty  to  forty  inches  long,  were 
brought  alongside,  in  a  canoe  paddled  by  a  wild-looking 
and  awe-struck  Siwash,  who,  with  his  crouching Klootch- 
man  and  papoose,  gazed  upon  our  ship,  guns,  and  us 
with  an  expression  that  showed  them  to  be  unfamiliar 
sights.  He  was  evidently  a  stranger,  and  was  taken  in, 
for  he  took  willingly  two  bits  (25  cents)  each  for  the 
fish,  and  no  Sitka  Siwash  but  would  have  charged  treble 
tlie  price.  Through  an  interpreter,  I  learned  that  he  had 
spent  the  last  seven  months  in  a  shanty  on  the  western 
side  of  Kruzoff  Island,  and  that  well  up,  among  the 
foot-hills  of  Mount  Edgecomb,  there  was  a  little  lake, 
from  which  there  flowed  a  small  stream  into  the  Pacific, 
and  that  in  the  headwaters  of  this  stream  he  had  speared 
these  fish,  which  run  up  the  stream  in  the  fall,  remain 
all  winter  in  the  lake,  and  in  early  spring  spawn  in  the 
head  of  the  outlet." 

All  of  this  militated  strongly  against  the  theory  that 


38  FISHING  WITH  THE  FLY. 

they  were  salmon,  and  when,  on  being  dressed,  the  fe- 
males were  found  to  be  full  of  ripe  ova,  said  theory  was 
upset  completely.  My  ten-inch  specimen  of  last  Sep- 
tember supplied  us  with  a  clue,  and  it  was  soon  decided 
that  these  magnificent  fish  were  indeed  trout ;  for  in 
every  respect  except  size,  and  size  of  spots,  some  of 
which  were  a  quarter  of  an  inch  in  diameter,  the  fish 
were  identical.  Whitford,  the  oldest  inhabitant,  con- 
firmed the  Indian's  story,  and  gave  me  in  addition  the 
Indian  name  for  the  fish — '*  Quot,'^  and  that  of  the  Rus- 
sians, which  I  forget,  but  it  meant  "Mountain  Trout," 
and  said  that  they  are  found  only  in  the  lakes,  high  up 
in  the  mountains,  and  that  in  winter  the  Indians  spear 
and  catch  them  through  holes  in  the  ice. 

We  found  the  flesh  to  be  very  delicious — far  more  so 
than  the  best  of  the  salmon.  The  processes  of  cooking, 
both  by  broiling  and  boiling,  had  a  curious  effect,  for 
the  flesh,  which,  when  uncooked,  was  of  a  very  bright 
red,  blanched  to  pure  white. 

The  trip  to  Mount  Edgecomb,  in  the  early  spring, 
involved  hardship  and  danger ;  and  although  several  of 
us  resolved  that  we  would  undertake  it,  for  the  sake  of 
such  fish,  somehow  we  never  did,  and  I  have  thus  de- 
scribed all  of  the  gardneri  that  I  ever  saw. 
■  Sahno  purpuratus  {Clark ii).  The  most  beautiful 
of  the  trout  family,  although  in  no*  way  equal  to  our 
Eastern  trout  in  any  other  respect. 

The  purpuratus  is  a  lake  trout,  and  found  only  in 
low-lying  lakes.     Just  back  of  Sitka,  at  the  foot  of  the 


THE  SAL3I0N  AND  TROUT  OF  ALASKA.        39 

mountains,  and  elevated  perhaps  twenty  feet  above  the 
sea,  is  a  little  lake  dubbed  by  me  *'Fiseco," 

Handy  to  get  at,  and  its  outlet  running  through  the 
centre  of  the  town,  it  became,  in  early  spring,  our  first 
resort  for  fishing.  Arriving  in  June,  1879,  many  of  us 
had,  through  days  of  fruitless  endeavor,  during  the 
summer  and  autumn,  grown  to  disbelieve  the  tales  of 
the  inhabitants,  that  this  lake  abounded  in  trout ;  but 
on  the  20tli  of  May,  1880,  from  somewhere,  there 
thronged  the  shallow  edges,  among  the  lily  pads,  great 
schools  of  these  trout,  and  for  about  two  weeks  there 
was  no  limit  to  the  number  one  could  take  of  them. 
Salmon  spawn  was  the  best  bait,  but  a  bit  of  venison 
would  answer.  A  fly  they  would  not  rise  to.  In  size, 
they  ranged  from  six  to  twelve  inches — the  latter  size 
being,  however,  very  exceptional ;  their  average  was 
about  eight  inches.  The  description  in  my  notes  is : 
'*  Specimen,  May  27th.  Length,  nine  and  one-half 
inches ;  depth,  two  and  three-eighth  inches ;  weight, 
five  ounces ;  colors — back,  rich,  dark  brown,  growing 
lighter  toward  median  line  ;  at  which,  covering  it  for  a 
space  of  half  an  inch,  there  is  a  longitudinal  stripe  of 
rich  purple,  extending  from  opercle  nearly  to  tail ;  be- 
low the  median  line,  bright  olive-green,  lightening  to 
silvery  white  on  belly.  All  of  the  tinted  portion  is  pro- 
fusely sprinkled  with  oval  black  spots,  which  mark  also 
the  dorsal,  caudal,  and  adipose  fins ;  the  ventral  and 
anal  fins  are  yellowish  bordered  with  crimson;  tail, 
nearly  square. 


40  FISHING  WITH  THE  FLY, 

"  The  entire  tinted  portion  has  a  beautiful  golden  iri- 
descence, so  that  when  held  in  the  sunlight,  and  looked 
at  from  the  rear,  it  seems  to  be  gilded."  It  may  be  no- 
ticed that,  with  the  exception  of  the  purple  stripe  and 
the  golden  iridescence,  the  description  of  this  fish  is  al- 
most identical  with  that  of  the  gardneri,  I  think  it 
quite  possible  that  they  are  the  same  at  different  ages, 
and  that  later  in  life  these  Clarkii  may  become  ambi- 
tious and  seek  more  lofty  lakes.  None  that  were  taken 
contained  ova. 

Where  they  came  from,  unless  they  run  up  the  in- 
let at  night,  no  one  found  out,  for  although  closely 
watched  in  the  daytime,  none  were  ever  seen  in  it. 

After  about  two  weeks  the  greater  portion  disap- 
peared, and  although  sought  in  the  deep  waters  of  the 
lake,  could  not  be  found.  Major  William  Governeur 
Morris,  the  Collector  of  Customs  of  Alaska,  assures  me, 
however,  that  during  the  summer  of  1882,  he  found 
certain  places  in  the  lake  where  he  caught  them  until 
August.  On  July  4th  he  with  a  friend  caught  four 
hundred  and  three  in  three  hours,  baiting  with  a  single 
salmon  ^gg. 

I  am  not  sure  that  we  could  not  have  again  found 
them,  but  the  fishing  having  grown  slack  in  the  lake, 
and  growing  daily  better  in  the  creeks,  we  spent  most 
of  our  time  on  the  latter. 

COMPARTSOK   OF   ALASKA   WITH   EASTERN"  TROUT. 

The  principal  differences  between  the  Alaska  and 


THE  SALMON  AND  TROVT  OF  ALASKA.        41 

Eastern  trout  are,  first,  all  Alaskans  have  hyoid  teeth, 
the  eastern  trout  have  not. 

No  Alaskan  trout  will  take  a  fly.  All  Alaskan  trout, 
I  think,  spend  a  portion  of  their  lives  in  salt  water. 
Length  being  equal,  the  Alaska  trout,  with  the  excep- 
tion of  the  Gardneri,  or  mountain  trout,  are  lighter 
than  those  of  our  eastern  streams. 

Using  as  a  standard  the  average  weight  of  a  number 
of  ten-inch  Adirondack  trout,  the  following  table  will 
show  this  : 

Fontinalis-Adirondack,  length  10  inches,  weight  6  oz. 
Fresh-run  Spectabilis,         "      10      "  "      5  oz.  20  grains. 

Crimson-specked"  "      10.3"  "      5  oz.  106   '* 

Salmo  Clarkii,  "        9.6  "  "      5  oz. 

Salmo  Gardneri,  ,     "      10.1  "  "      7^  oz. 

In  conclusion,  I  must  again  request  that  this  contri- 
bution shall  not  be  considered  and  judged  as  an  attempt 
to  scientifically  describe  the  fish  treated  upon,  but 
rather  as  what  it  really  is,  a  condensation  of  the  field- 
notes  of  an  amateur  angler. 

I  have,  in  giving  the  sizes,  weights,  and  other  data 
in  regard  to  the  Alaska  salmon  and  trout,  depended 
almost  entirely  upon  my  personal  knowledge  and  ex- 
perience ;  it  may  not  be  out  of  place  to  add  to  them 
some  data  gathered  from  reliable  authorities. 

In  his  report  on  the  resources  of  Alaska,  Major  Wm. 
Governeur  Morris  writes  :  "  Sixty  thousand  Indians  and 
several  thousand  Aleuts  and  Esquimaux  depend  for  the 


42  FI8HING  WITH  THE  FLY. 

most  part  upon  dried  salmon  for  their  winter  suste- 
nance." 

The  Hon.  Wm.  S.  Dodge,  formerly  Mayor  of  Sitka, 
states  in  an  official  report :  ^^  And  additional  testimony 
comes  to  us  from  numerous  persons,  that  at  Cook's  In- 
let the  salmon  average  in  weight  sixty  pounds,  and  some 
of  them  reach  a  weight  of  one  hundred  and  twenty 
pounds,  and  Mr.  T.  Gr.  Murphy  only  last  week  brought 
down  from  there  on  the  Neivbern  a  barrel  full,  con- 
taining only  four  fish."  Surgeon  Thomas  T.  Minor, 
who  some  years  ago  visited  Cook's  Inlet,  in  connection 
with  business  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution,  makes 
statements  which  confirm  the  foregoing. 

In  the  vicinity  of  Klawack  a  cannery  is  established. 
A  catch  of  seven  thousand  fish  at  one  haul  of  the  seines 
is  not  unusual,  many  weighing  over  forty  pounds. 

Mr.  Frederick  Whymper,  artist  to  the  Russian  Over- 
land Telegraph  Expedition,  says  in  his  well-Avritten 
and  interesting  account  of  his  adventures:  **The 
Yukon  salmon  is  by  no  means  to  be  despised.  One 
large  variety  is  so  rich  that  there  is  no  necessity  when 
frying  it  to  put  fat  in  the  pan.  The  fish  sometimes 
measure  five  feet  in  length,  and  I  have  seen  boats  whose 
sides  were  made  of  the  tough  skin." 

And  a  writer  who,  if  disposed  to  strain  the  truth 
would  not  do  so  to  say  anything  in  favor  of  Alaska, 
says  in  an  article  in  Harper^s  Magazine,  Vol.  LV. 
page  815  :  "The  number  of  spawning  fish  that  as- 
cend the   Yukon  every  June  or  July  is  something 


THE  8AL3I0N  AND  TROUT  OF  ALASKA.       43 

fabulous.  ...  It  would  appear  reasonable  to  an- 
ticipate, therefore,  the  adoption  by  our  fishermen 
of  some  machinery  by  which  they  can  visit  the  Yukon 
when  the  salmon  begin  to  run,  and  while  they  ascend 
the  river  catch  a  million  pounds  a  day,  for  the  raw  ma- 
terial is  there,  of  the  largest  size,  the  finest  flavor,  and 
the  greatest  number  known  to  any  stream  in  the 
world. " 

My  general  views  about  Alaska  differ  widely  from 
those  of  the  writer,  but  on  the  salmon  question,  I  in- 
dorse all  I  have  quoted,  excepting  only  the  word  flavor. 

I  do  not  think  the  Alaska  salmon  equal  in  this  respect 
to  those  of  the  Atlantic  coast,  and  far  behind  those  of 
the  Ehine  ;  they  are,  however,  superior  to  those  of  the 
Columbia  Kiver. 

In  speaking  of  the  salmon,  I  find  I  have  omitted  to 
mention  that  in  early  spring,  before  the  arrival  of  the 
salmon  trout,  and  after  their  departure  in  fall,  great 
quantities  of  fingerling  salmon  pervaded  the  streams, 
and  bit  eagerly  at  any  kind  of  meat  bait. 

While  the  spedahills  were  present,  these  little  fellows 
kept  out  of  sight  and  notice. 

Since  the  body  of  this  paper  was  written  there  has 
been  on  exhibition  by  Mr.  Blackford,  of  Fulton  Mar- 
ket, New  York,  a  number  of  trout,  pronounced  to  be 
the  salmo  irideus^  one  of  which,  weighing  fifteen  pounds, 
was  sent  to  the  Smithsonian  Institution,  and  there  iden- 
tified by  Professor  Bean  as  being  ''  Salmo  gar dneri,  the 
great  trout  of  Edgecomh  LalceJ'^ 


44  FISHIKG  WITH  THE  FLY. 

I,  studying  these  fish  in  their  glass  tank,  did  not 
form  this  opinion,  for  Blackford's  trout  had  a  broad 
red  band  extening  from  just  back  of  the  eye  to  the  tail, 
covering  the  operculum,  a  marking  not  existing  on  any 
of  the  Edgecomb  trout  I  have  seen.  But  the  Professor 
assures  me  that  ^^  color  on  the  lateral  line  is  not  a  spe- 
cific character.^^  On  comparing  my  notes  of  descrip- 
tion of  these  fish,  I  find  that  in  all  other  respects  they 
did  appear  identical,  hence  that  the  conclusion  arrived 
at  by  Prof.  Bean,  that  '^  the  gardneri  and  the  irideus 
(or  rainbow  trout  of  McCloud  Eiver),  are  identical 
seems  well  founded.  If  so,  and  iny  crude  supposition 
that  the  Clarhii,  obtained  in  Piseco  Lake  near  Sitka 
are  also  identical  with  the  gardneri  turns  out  to  be 
correct,  there  can  be  a  condensation  of  nomenclature, 
which  will  lead  to  at  least  one  valuable  result  from  this 
paper. 


I.-S.KE      FI.IES. 


Made  by  C.F.ORVIS.  Manchester. Vt 


CO  PYR  IG  H  TED 


I 


"No  sooner  had  the  barbed  hook  fastened  in  its  insidious  hold, 
and  the  impaled  monarch  learned  that  he  was  captive,  than  every 
effort  of  his  lithe  and  agile  frame  was  brought  into  play  to  re- 
cover freedom.  In  every  struggle,  in  every  effort  to  burst  the  bonds 
that  made  him  captive,  there  was  an  utter  recklessness  of  conse- 
quences, a  disregard  for  life  that  was  previously  unknown,  as  from 
side  to  side  of  the  pool  he  rushed,  or  headlong  stemmed  the  sweep- 
ing current.  Nor  did  the  hero  confine  himself  to  his  own  element; 
again  and  again  he  burst  from  its  surface  to  fall  back  fatigued, 
but  not  conquered.  The  battle  was  a  severe  one,  a  struggle  to 
the  death  ;  and  when  the  landing  net  placed  the  victim  at  my 
feet,  I  felt  that  he  had  died  the  death  of  a  hero.  Such  was  my 
first  sea-trout,  no  gamer,  truly,  than  hundreds  I  have  captured 
since  ;  but  what  can  be  expected  of  a  race  of  which  every  member 
is  a  hero  ?  " — Parker  Oilmore. 


I.  Silver  Doctor. 
3.  Black  June. 
5.  Captain. 


2.  Scarlet  Ibis. 
4.  Gray  Drake. 
6.  Academy; 


*'  If,  indeed,  you  be  an  angler,  join  us  and  welcome,  for  then  it 
is  known  to  you  that  no  man  is  in  perfect  condition  to  enjoy 
scenery  unless  he  have  a  fly-rod  in  his  hand  and  a  fly-book  in  his 
pocket." — Wm.  G.  Prime. 

"It  was  something  more  than  a  splendid  trout  that  he  brought 
to  our  view  as  we  met  him  at  the  landing.  The  young  heart  in 
the  old  body— the  genuine  enthusiasm  of  the  veteran  angler— the 
glorification  of  the  gentle  art  which  has  soothed  and  comforted 
many  an  aged  philosopher — all  this  he  revealed  to  us,  and  we 
wanted  to  lift  the  grand  old  man  to  our  shoulders  and  b6kr  him 
in  reverent  triumph  up  the  ascent."— J.  Judd  Northrup. 


"From  the  fisherman's  point  of  view,  the  sea  trout  is  equal  to 
the  finest  grilse  that  ever  ascended  Tay  or  Tweed,  exceeding,  as 


he  does,  for  gameness  and  pertinacity  every  other  British  fish." 
— David  Foster, 

"As  to  flies,  the  indifference  of  sea-trout  about  kind,  when 
they  are  in  the  humor  to  take  any,  ahnost  warrants  tlie  belief  of 
some  anglers  that  they  leap  in  mere  sport  at  whatever  chances  to 
be  floating.  It  is  true  they  will  take  incredible  combinations, 
as  if  color-blind  and  blind  to  form.  But  experiments  on  their 
caprice  are  not  safe.  If  their  desire  is  to  be  tempted,  that  may 
most  surely  be  done  with  three  insects,  adapted  to  proper  places 
and  seasons.  One  need  not  go  beyond  the  range  of  a  red-bodied 
fly  with  blue  tip  and  wood-duck  wings  for  ordinary  use,  a  small 
all-gray  fly  for  low  water  in  bright  light,  and  a  yellowish  fly, 
green  striped  and  winged  with  curlew  feathers,  for  a  fine  cast 
under  the  alders  for  the  patriarchs." — A.  R,  Macdonougli. 

"His  tackle,  for  bricht  airless  days,  is  o'  gossamere  ;  and  at  a 
wee  distance  aff,  you  think  he's  fishin'  without  ony  line  ava,  till 
whirr  gangs  the  pirn,  and  up  springs  the  sea-trout,  silver-bricht, 
twa  yards  out  o'  the  water,  by  a  delicate  jerk  o'  the  wrist,  hyucked 
inextricably  by  the  tongue  clean  ower  the  barb  o'  the  kirby-bend. 
Midge-flees  I  "—7%e  Ettrick  Shepherd. 

**  0,  sir,  doubt  not  but  that  Angling  is  an  art  ;  is  it  not  an  art 
to  deceive  a  trout  with  an  artificial  fly  ?  " — IzaaTc  Walton . 

"Sea-trout  show  themselves  wherever  salmon  are  found,  but 
not  always  simultaneously  with  them.  In  rivers  where  the  sal- 
mon run  begins  in  M^y  or  early  June,  you  need  not  look  for 
sea-trout  in  any  considerable  numbers  before  well  on  into  July. 
Intermediately  they  are  found  in  tide- water  at  the  mouths  of  the 
salmon  rivers,  and  often  in  such  numbers  and  of  such  weight 
as  give  the  angler  superb  sport." — Oeorge  Dawson. 

"  What  I  maintain  is,  that  the  brook  trout  perpetually  preserve 
their  autonomy,  and  tliat  the  armies  of  sea  trout  are  never  rein- 
forced from  the  brooks." — Charles  Ilcdlock. 


SEA-TROUT. 

BY 

FITZ    JAMES    FITCH. 


Sunday  morning,  August  2,  1874,  found  us,  Mr.  A. 
R.  Macdonough  and  me,  at  Tadousac,  a  French  Canadian 
village,  very  small  for  its  age,  situated  on  the  northeast 
shore  of  the  Saguenay  River,  one  and  a  half  miles  from 
the  junction  of  its  dark  and  mighty  waters  with  the 
turbid  and  mightier  St.  Lawrence.  This  day  was  the 
beginning  of  the  culmination  of  four  months  of  prepa- 
ration for  a  month's  release  from  the  business  world, 
its  toil,  care  and  worry.  The  preparations  began  with 
the  payment  of  $150  in  gold — $171.20  currency — the 
rent  named  in  a  lease  securing  to  us  the  exclusive  right 
to  fish  a  river  on  the  north  shore  of,  and  emptying  into, 
the  St.  Lawrence  many  miles  below  the  Saguenay.  "We 
left  New  York  sweltering  in  a  temperature  that  sent 
the  mercury  up  to  the  nineties  ;  were  fanned  by  the 
cool  evening  breeze  of  the  Hudson,  and  later  by  the 
cooler  breath  of  the  old  Catskills,  around  which  cluster 
the  recollections  and  associations  of  thirty  years  of  my 
life.  We  had  travelled  by  rail  to  Montreal,  412  miles, 
and  spent  a  day  there  ;  by  steamboat  to  Quebec, 
180  miles,  where  we  passed  twenty-four  hours.     We 


48  FI8HIN0  WITH  THE  FLY, 

had  left  this,  the  most  interesting  city  of  English- 
speaking  North  America,  in  the  morning  by  steamboat, 
and,  after  a  day  of  delights  upon  this  majestic  river, 
the  St.  Lawrence,  reached  L'Anse  a  TEau,  the  landing 
for  Tadousac,  130  miles,  in  the  evening  of  August  1st. 
We  felt  as  we  walked  out  upon  the  wide  piazza  of  the 
Tadousac  Hotel  that 

"  simmer  Sunday  morn 

When  Nature's  face  was  fair," 

and  looked  up  that  mysterious  river,  the  Saguenay, 
and  upon  its  castellated  mountains  of  granite,  that  in- 
deed "  the  lines  had  fallen  to  us  in  pleasant  places." 

We  had  reached  the  end,  as  our  course  lay,  of  rail- 
roads and  steamboat  lines,  and  must  finish  our  journey 
in  chaloupe  and  birch-bark  canoe.  We  were  there  to 
leave  civilization  and  its  conveniences  for  nature  and 
primitive  modes  of  life.  In  the  story  I  am  relating  my 
progress  up  to  this  point  has  been  as  rapid  as  was  our 
transit.  Erom  this  point  on  it  must  correspond  with 
our  slower  mode  of  progression  ;  and  hence  there  must 
be  more  of  detail  in  what  follows.  I  hope,  but  cannot 
expect,  that  the  reader  will  find  the  change  as  agreeable 
and  free  from  irksomeness  as  we  found  our  chaloupe , 
canoe,  tent,  and  life  in  the  woods. 

After  an  excellent  breakfast,  we  lighted  cigars  and 
walked  down  to  the  humble  cottage  of  my  guide, 
David,  on  the  beach  of  the  little  bay  of  Tadousac,  who 
had  in  charge  our  tents,  stores,  camp  equipments,  and 
three  new  birch-bark  canoes,  ordered  months  before. 


8EA.TR0UT.  49 

and  for  which  we  paid  175  in  gold.  David  paddled  us 
out  to  our  chaloupe,  anchored  in  the  bay,  and  intro- 
duced me  to  Captain  Edward  Ovington,  master,  and 
his  nephew,  Fabian,  a  lad  of  sixteen  or  seventeen 
years,  his  mate.  The  cJialoupe  was  thirty  feet  '*  foie 
and  aft ; "  beam,  9|  feet.  Six  or  eight  feet  aft  we 
called  the  quarter-deck.  A  comfortable  seat  surrounded 
three  sides  of  it,  affording  sittings  for  eight  or  ten  per- 
sons. Next  forward  of  this>  and  separated  from  it  by  a 
bulkhead,  was  a  space  of  six  or  eight  feet  for  freight. 
Next  came  our  cabin,  eight  by  nine  feet,  and  just  high 
enough  to  enable  us  to  sit  upright  on  the  low  shelf 
which  was  to  serve  as  a  seat  by  day  and  bed  at  night. 
Then  came  the  forecastle,  in  which  was  a  very  small 
cooking  stove.  The  vessel  was  rigged  with  main  and 
topmast,  strengthened  by  iron  shrouds,  with  a  large 
mainsail,  topsail,  jib  and  ''jigger,"  as  it  is  called  by 
Canadian  boatmen.  It  was  in  respect  to  the  jigger  that 
the  craft  differed  from  a  sloop-rigged  yacht  or  boat. 
Clear  aft,  and  back  of  the  rudder-post,  was  a  mast  about 
fifteen  feet  high  ;  running  from  the  stern  of  the  vessel 
was  a  stationary  jigger  boom,  something  like  the  jib- 
boom,  except  that  it  was  horizontal ;  on  these  was 
rigged  a  sail  in  shape  like  the  mainsail.  The  boat  was 
a  fair  sailer,  strong,  well  built,  and  from  four  to  six 
tons  burden.  In  returning  to  the  hotel  we  stopped  at 
and  entered  the  little  Erench  Roman  Catholic  Church. 
It  is  not  known  when  it  was  erected.  Jacques  Cartier, 
in  his  second  visit  to  America,  in  1535,  explored  the 
4 


50  FISHING  WITH  THE  FLY. 

Sagnenay ;  and  Father  Marquette  made  Tadousac  his 
residence  for  a  short  time.  When  he  first  came  to  this 
country  in  1665,  tradition  tells  us,  he  established  a  mis- 
sion there  and  built  a  log  chapel  on  the  site  where  the 
church  we  entered  stands.  The  latter  is  a  wooden 
building,  about  twenty-five  by  thirty  feet,  with  a  hand- 
some altar  placed  in  a  recess  chancel,  the  rear  wall  of 
which  is  adorned  with  three  oil  paintings.  The  centre 
one,  over  the  altar,  was  the  Crucifixion.  A  small  porch, 
or  vestibule,  of  rough  boards,  had  been  added  in  mod- 
em times.  A  little  antique  bell  swung  in  the  belfry 
on  the  east  gable,  which  was  surmounted  by  an  iron 
floriated  cross.  The  church  was  filled  with  devout 
haUtans,  mainly — there  was  a  sprinkling  of  summer 
boarders  and  anglers — who  listened  with  apparent  in- 
terest to  the  extempore  sermon  of  a  young  French 
priest  of  prepossessing  appearance  and  manner.  In 
the  afternoon  I  attended  the  English  Episcopal  Church, 
about  a  mile  from  the  hotel,  and  midway  between  Ta- 
dousac and  L'Anse  a  I'Eau.  Here  I  felt  quite  at  home, 
enjoyed  the  services,  and  joined  heartily  in  the  prayer 
for  the  "  Queen,  the  Eoyal  Family,  and  all  who  are  in 
authority.^'  I  was  compelled  to  put  a  U.  S.  green- 
back, to  represent  my  contribution  of  one  dollar,  upon 
the  plate.  I  have  been  sorry  ever  since  that  I  did  not 
secure  a  reputation  for  honesty  and  fair  dealing  by  add- 
ing a  dime  to  pay  the  premium  on  gold,  and  thus  make 
good  our  (then)  depreciated  currency. 

August  3d. — A  gray  flannel  suit  and    shirt  were 


8EA-TR0UT.  51 

donned  this  morning.  Our  fishing  clothes"  and  para- 
phernalia were  packed  in  large  canvas  bags,  toilet  arti- 
cles, etc.,  in  grip  sacks,  and  all  else  left  in  our  Saratoga 
trunks,  and  in  charge  of  the  hotel  manager  until  our 
return.  At  11  o'clock  we  walked  down  to  the  beach 
where  Dayid  and  the  Captain  met  us  with  our  respec- 
tive canoes.  I  asked  "  Dah-veede "  (he  was  very 
particular  about  the  pronunciation  of  his  name),  "how 
shall  I  dispose  of  myself  in  this  cranky  thing  ?  "  "  Sit 
down  on  the  bottoui,  sir."  The  latter  part  of  the  sit- 
ting process  was  rather  emphatic.  I  wondered  how  I 
was  to  get  up  !  All  being  on  board  the  good  chaloiope 
Quebec,  the  sails  were  spread  to  the  breeze,  and  by  one 
o'clock  we  had  beat  out  of  the  bay,  down  the  Sague- 
nay,  and  were  on  the  St.  Lawrence.  As  we  sailed, 
the  canoes  which  had  been  in  tow  were  hoisted  on 
deck ;  one,  turned  upon  its  side,  was  lashed  to  the 
shrouds  of  the  vessel  on  either  side,  and  the  third, 
turned  bottom  up,  was  laid  upon  the  cabin  deck.  The 
wind  was  N.  W.,  and  favorable,  so  that  we  made  about 
eight  knots  an  hour.  We  landed  at  Escomains,  to  take 
on  board  Pierre  Jacques,  a  full-blooded  Indian,  pos- 
sessing the  usual  characteristics  of  his  race — laziness 
and  love  of  whiskey.  He  was  Mr.  Macdonough's  guide ; 
and,  despite  the  weaknesses  mentioned,  proved  a  good 
guide  and  a  most  skilful  canoeist.  We  continued  to 
sail  until  ten  o'clock  at  night,  when  we  dropped  anchor. 
The  night  was  dark  and  rainy,  the  wind  fresh,  and  the 
river  very  rough,  causing  our  little  craft  to  dance,  roll. 


52  FISHING  WITH  THE  FLY. 

and  pitch  in  a  most  disgusting  manner.  We  had  no 
seasickness  on  board,  but  much  wakefulness  on  my  side 
of  the  cabin.  Being  thus  '^  Eocked  in  the  cradle  of 
the  deep,"  was  not  a  success  as  a  soporific,  in  my  case, 
at  least. 

August  Uh. — Seven  o'clock,  A.  m.  We  haye  been 
sailing  since  daylight  this  morning,  and  are  now  at 
anchor  near  the  Sault  au  Cochon.  Mr.  Macdonough 
had  occasion  to  visit  a  country  store  near  the  falls,  and 
suggested  that  I  try  to  catch  a  trout  for  breakfast. 
The  stream  which  empties  into  the  St.  Lawrence  here 
is  of  considerable  size — say  forty  feet  wide — and  pours 
over  a  ledge  of  rocks,  or  precipice,  about  fifty  feet  in 
height,  into  the  head  of  a  small  bay.  The  water  under 
and  near  the  fall  is  very  rough  and  swift.  My  guide 
launched  my  canoe,  paddled  me  out,  and  placed  me  in 
such  a  position  that  I  could  cast  in  the  eddy  formed 
by  the  swift  waters  from  the  fall.  With  a  hornbeam 
rod,  of  ten  ounces  in  weight,  and  twelve  feet  in  length, 
armed  with  two  flies,  I  whipped  the  waters.  A  few 
casts  brought  up  a  trout.  I  saw  its  head  as  it  rose  for 
my  dropper,  struck,  and  hooked  the  fish.  It  ran  down 
with  the  current,  my  click  reel  singing  the  tune  so  de- 
lightful to  anglers'  ears,  until  near  one  hundred  feet  of 
line  was  out.  Placing  my  gloved  thumb  upon  the 
barrel  of  the  reel,  I  checked  its  progress.  The  trout 
dashed  right  and  left,  from  and  towards  me,  at  times 
putting  my  tackle  to  a  severe  test.  It  kept  below  the 
surface  of  the  water ;  therefore,  I  could  only  judge  of 


SEA-TROUT.  53 

the  size  of  my  captive  by  the  strength  it  exerted  in  its 
efforts  to  escape.  My  enthusiastic  guide  was  much  ex- 
cited, and  cheered  me  by  such  remarks  as,  "  Juge  he 
big  trout.  He  weigh  three,  four,  five  pounds  !  He 
very  big  trout  ! "  I  concurred  in  his  opinion,  as  it  often 
required  the  utmost  strength  of  my  right  hand  and 
wrist  to  hold  my  ro'd  at  the  proper  angle.  After  play- 
ing the  fish  fifteen  or  twenty  minutes,  without  its 
showing  any  signs  of  exhaustion,  I  slowly,  and  by  sheer 
force,  reeled  the  fish  to  the  canoe,  and  my  guide 
scooped  it  out  with  the  landing  net.  I  then  discovered 
it  was  not  the  monster  we  had  supposed  it  to  be, 
but  that  it  was  hooked  by  the  tail  fly  at  the  roots  of 
the  caudal  fin.  The  fish  was  killed,  by  a  blow  upon  the 
head,  and  weighed.  The  scales  showed  two  pounds 
two  ounces.  The  guide  paddled  ashore,  and  upon  the 
rocks  near  the  falls  built  a  fire  and  prepared  our 
breakfast.  The  fish  was  split  open  on  the  back,  spread 
out  upon  a  plank,  to  which  it  was  secured  by  wooden 
pegs,  set  up  before  the  fire,  and  thus  broiled,  or  more 
properly,  roasted.  A  more  delicious  trout  I  never  tasted. 

Up  to  this  point,  what  has  been  written  has  been 
abstracted  from  the  prolix  journal  that  I  kept  of  this 
bout. 

As  I  have  taken  my  first  sea-trout  from  Canadian 
waters  it  is  fitting  that  I  turn  to  the  subject  of  this 
article, 

SEA-TROUT. 

Like  all  anadromous  fishes  its  "  ways  are  dark  and 


54  FISHING   WITH  THE  FLY. 

past  finding  out."  Hence  scientists,  naturalists,  anglers 
and  guides  differ  widely  and  materially  in  regard  to  its 
proper  name,  its  species,  and  its  habits.  Scarcely  any 
two  writers  upon  the  subject  have  agreed  in  all  these 
points.  Sea-trout  {Salmo  Trutta)  abound  in  northern 
Europe.  As  stated  by  Foster  in  his  ''Scientific  An- 
gler," in  ''nearly  every  beck  and  burn,  loch  and  river 
of  Scotland  and  Ireland  ;  and  are  readily  taken  with  a 
fly."  These  sea- trout  have  been  mentioned  and  de- 
scribed by  many  eminent  writers — Sir  Humphry  Davy, 
Yarrel,  Foster,  and  others.  The  description  given  of 
this  fish,  the  number  of  rays  in  its  fins,  its  coloring 
and  markings,  and  lastly  the  absence  of  all  red  or  ver- 
milion spots  render  it  absolutely  certain  that  they  are 
not  in  species  identical  with  the  sea  trout  of  the  Domin- 
ion of  Canada. 

As  is  shown  by  Thaddeus  Norris,  in  his  admirable 
work,  "  The  American  Angler's  Book,"  conclusively  I 
think,  the  supposed  identity  of  the  two  kinds  of 
sea-trout  mentioned  have  led  many  writers  astray 
when  speaking  of  the  sea-trout  found  in  American 
waters. 

Norris  has  applied  to  the  latter  fish  the  name  Salmo 
Canadensis,  given,  I  believe,  by  Col.  Hamilton  Smith, 
in  1834.  Whether  icthyologists  can  find  a  better  or 
more  apjDropriate  one  matters  not.  It  is  desirable  that 
there  be  a  name  to  distinguish  this  fish  from  all  others, 
and  this  one,  if  generally  adopted,  will  serve  all  neces- 
sary purposes. 


SEA-TROTTT.  55 

In  describing  the  fish  Norris  writes  thus  :  "A  Ca- 
nadian trout,  fresh  from  the  sea,  as  compared  with  the 
brook  trout,  has  larger  and  more  distinct  scales ;  the 
form  is  not  so  much  compressed ;  the  markings  on  the 
back  are  lighter  and  not  so  vermiculated  in  form,  but 
resemble  more  the  broken  segments  of  a  circle  j  it  has 
fewer  red  spots,  which  are  also  less  distinct."  He  also 
thinks  the  sea-trout,  until  they  attain  the  weight  of 
two  pounds,  more  slender  in  form.  Again  I  quote  ver- 
hatim :  '^  In  color,  when  fresh  run  from  the  sea,  this 
fish  is  a  light,  bluish  green  on  the  back,  light  silvery- 
gray  on  the  sides,  and  brilliant  white  on  the  belly ;  the 
ventral  and  anal  fins  entirely  white;  the  pectorals 
brownish  blue  in  front  and  the  posterior  rays  rosy 
white.  The  tail  is  quite  forked  in  the  young  fish,  as 
in  all  the  salmonidae,  but  when  fully  grown  is  slightly 
lunate." 

Genio  C.  Scott,  who  laid  no  claim  to  being  a  scient- 
ist, but  who  was  a  close  observer,  also  compares  the 
same  fish,  which  he  calls  ihe  Silver-trout  or  sea-trout, 
Trutta  Argentina,  or  Trutta  Marina,  with  the  brook 
trout.  He  says,  "  The  sea-trout  is  similar  to  the  brook- 
trout  in  all  facial  peculiarities.  It  is  shaped  like  the 
brook-trout.  The  vermicular  marks  on  the  back,  and 
above  the  lateral  line,  are  like  those  of  the  brook-trout; 
its  vermicular  white  and  amber  dots  are  like  the  brook- 
trout's  ;  its  fins  are  like  the  brook-trout's,  even  to  the 
square  or  slightly  lunate  end  of  the  tail.  It  has  the 
amber  back  and  silver  sides  of  such  brook-trout  as  have 


56  FISEING  WITH  THE  FLY. 

access  to  the  estuary  food  of  the  eggs  of  different  fishes, 
the  young  herring,"  etc. 

These  descriptions  differ  but  little,  and  are,  I  believe, 
as  accurate  in  the  main  as  can  be  given.  Both  these 
writers,  as  will  be  seen,  are  discussing,  and  have  taken 
opposite  sides  upon  the  question,  whether  the  Canadian 
sea-trout  is  an  anadromous  brook-trout.  This  question 
was  very  well  presented  by  Mr.  Macdonough  (my  com- 
panion) in  an  article  entitled  ''  Sea-Trout  Fishing," 
published  in  Scrihner's  Monthly  Magazine  for  May, 
1877.  He  begins  thus:  "What  is  a  sea-trout?  A 
problem  to  begin  with,  though  quite  a  minor  one,  since 
naturalists  have  for  some  time  past  kept  specimens 
waiting  their  leisure  to  decide  whether  he  is  a  cadet  of 
the  noble  salmon  race,  or  merely  the  chief  of  the  fa- 
miliar brook-trout  tribe.  Science  inclines  to  the  former 
view  upon  certain  slight  but  sure  indications  noted  in 
spines  and  gill  covers.  The  witness  of  guides  and  gaf- 
fers leads  the  same  way ;  and  the  Indians  all  say  that 
the  habits  of  the  sea-trout  and  brook-trout  differ,  and 
that  the  contrast  between  the  markings  of  the  two 
kinds  of  fish  taken  from  the  same  pool,  forbids  the  idea 
of  their  identity.  Yet  the  testimony  of  many  accom- 
plished sportsmen  affirms  it.  The  gradual  change  of 
color  in  the  same  fish  as  he  ascends  the  stream  from 
plain  silvery  gray  to  deepest  dotted  bronze  ;  his  haunts 
at  the  lower  end  of  pools,  behind  rocks,  and  among 
roots  ;  his  action  in  taking  the  fly  with  an  upward  leap, 
not  downwards  from  above — all  these  resemblances 


SEA'TROUT, 


57 


support  the  theory  that  the  sea-trout  is  only  an  anad- 
romous  brook-trout.  .  .  .  Indeed  the  difference  in 
color  between  the  brook-trout  and  sea-trout  ranges 
within  a  far  narrower  scale  than  that  between  parr, 
grilse,  and  salmon."  The  reader  who  has  not  read  the 
paper  would  doubtless  thank  me  for  quoting  it  entire. 
As  will  have  been  seen,  the  conscientious  and  lamented 
Thad.  Norris,  when  he  wrote  as  above  quoted,  thought 
that  the  Canadian  sea- trout* were  not  the  English  Salmo 
Trutta,  nor  the  Salmo  Fontinalis,  and  as  proof  gave 
this  table  showing  the  number  of  rays  in  the  fins  of  the 
following  fish  : 


Sea-trout  (S.  Truttd) 

Canadian  Tront  {S.  Canadensis) 

Brook  or  River  Trout  {S.  Fontinalis) 


D. 

P. 

V. 

A. 

12 

13 

9 

10 

10 

13 

8 

9 

10 

12 

8 

9 

c. 

19 
19 
19 


He  adds,  speaking  of  the  last  two  fish — "  there  be- 
ing only  a  difference  of  one  ray  in  the  pectorals,  which 
may  be  accidental."  I  am  credibly  informed  that  some 
years  after  his  book  was  written,  and  after  a  more 
familiar  acquaintance  with  the  8.  Canadensis,  his  views 
underwent  an  entire  change,  and  that  he  wrote  "the 
S.  Canadensis  is  the  8.  Fontinalis  gone  to  sea" 

The  space  allowed  me  for  this  paper  will  not  admit 
of  my  quoting  further  from  the  writings  of  those  above 
mentioned  or  of  others  upon  this  subject. 

I  will  now  state,  as  briefly  as  I  can,  my  own  views  re- 


58  FISHING  WITH  THE  FLY. 

suiting  from  long  familiarity  with  brook-trout,  gained 
by  thirty-five  years  of  angling  for  them,  my  acquaint- 
ance with  the  sea-trout  of  Long  Island,  and  those  found 
in  Canadian  waters.  In  regard  to  the  markings  of  the 
fish  immediatelg  after  migrating  from  salt  to  fresh  water 
it  is  unnecessary  to  say  more,  except  that  the  vermicu- 
lar marks  differ  somewhat  in  different  fish.  Some  that 
I  caught  and  examined  closely  had,  as  Scott  says,  "  ver- 
miculate  marks  on  the  back  very  plain  and  distinct." 
And  on  others,  as  Norris  writes,  *^the  markings  on  the 
back  were  lighter  and  not  so  vermiculated  in  form,  but 
resembling  more  the  broken  segments  of  a  circle."  The 
fish  in  this  respect  differ  from  each  other  far  less  than 
often  do  brook  trout,  taken  from  the  same  pool.  Nor- 
ris  thinks  the  sea-trout  more  slender  in  form  than  the 
brook-trout  until  the  former  attains  the  weight  of  two 
pounds.  I  have  not  been  able  to  discover  this  differ- 
ence between  sea- trout  and  the  brook- trout  taken  from 
the  waters  of  this  State.  The  trout  of  Rangeley  Lake, 
and  waters  adjacent  in  Maine  (I  assume,  as  I  believe, 
they  are  genuine  brook  trout),  are  thicker  and  shorter 
than  trout  of  the  same  weight  caught  in  the  State  of 
!N"ew  York,  or  the  Canadian  sea-trout.  I  have  two 
careful  and  accurate  drawings — one  of  a  sea-trout  which 
weighed  four  and  one-quarter  pounds,  and  measured 
twenty-two  and  one-half  inches  in  length,  and  five  and 
one- eighth  inches  in  depth — the  other  of  a  Kangeley 
trout  that  weighed  eight  pounds,  and  measured  twenty- 
six  inches  in  length,  and  eight  and  a  half  inches  in 


8EA-TR0TTT,  59 

depth.  I  have  seen  and  measured  several  Rangeley 
trout — ^two  of  seven  pounds  each,  one  of  four  and  one- 
half  pounds,  etc.,  and  in  all  I  think  there  was  a  similar 
disproportion  as  compared  with  the  other  trout  ahove 
mentioned. 

As  regards  the  numher  of  rays  in  the  fins  of  sea-trout 
I  can  only  say  that  while  fishing  for  them  I  counted 
the  rays  and  found  them  to  compare  in  number  with 
those  of  the  brook-trout  as  given  by  Norris  in  the  table 
inserted  ante. 

All  the  writers  from  whom  I  have  quoted,  and  all 
persons  with  whom  I  have  conversed  who  have  fished 
for  these  sea-trout,  concur  in  the  opinion  that  soon  after 
the  sea-trout  enters  fresh  water,  a  change  in  color  and 
appearance  begins,  which  ends  in  assimilating,  as  nearly 
as  may  be,  the  fish  in  question  to  the  brook  trout.  On 
the  first  day's  fishing,  when  my  guide  accompanied  me, 
he  opened  the  mouth  of  a  trout  and  called  my  attention 
to  small  parasites — "  Sea-lice,"  he  called  them — in  the 
mouth  and  throat  of  the  fish.  He  said  that  the  pres- 
ence of  these  parasites  was  a  sure  indication  that  the 
fish  had  just  left  the  salt  water  ;  that  they  would  soon 
disappear  in  fresh  water.  As  a  matter  of  curiosity  I 
examined  the  mouths  of  several  fish,  and  invariably 
found  that  if  they  presented  the  appearance  described 
by  Norris  and  Scott,  the  parasites  were  present ;  but  if 
they  had  assumed  a  gayer  livery  none  were  to  be  found. 
The  change  in  color,  which  begins  with  the  trout's  ad- 
vent to  fresh  water,  is  progressive,  and  ceases  only  when 


60  FI8HIN0  WITH  THE  FLY, 

the  object  of  its  mission,  the  deposit  and  impregnation 
of  the  spawn,  is  accomplished.  In  proof  of  this  I  will 
state  that  during  the  last  days  of  our  stay  on  the 
stream,  and  notably  in  fish  taken  fifteen  or  twenty  miles 
from  tide  water,  it  was  not  infrequent  that  we  caught 
trout  as  gorgeous  and  brilliant  in  color  as  the  male 
brook  trout  at  the  spawning  season.  Whether  this 
change  of  color  is  attributable  to  the  character  of  the 
water  in  which  it  '*  lives,  moves,  and  has  its  being,"  to 
the  food  it  eats,  or  other  causes,  it  is  impossible  to  say. 
I  often  caught  from  the  same  or  adjacent  pools,  trout 
fresh  from  the  sea  and  dull  in  color,  and  those  showing 
in  a  greater  or  less  degree  the  brilliancy  of  the  moun- 
tain brook  trout.  Of  course  they  differ  widely  in  ap- 
pearance, and  therefore  it  is  not  surprising  that  the 
*^  Indians  all  say,"  as  expressed  by  Mr.  Macdonough, 
'^  that  the  contrast  between  the  markings  of  the  two 
kinds  of  fish  forbids  the  idea  of  their  identity." 

As  mentioned  by  Mr.  Macdonough  the  sea- trout  have 
their  '^haunts  at  the  lower  end  of  pools"  [and  upper 
end  he  might  have  added  with  truth],  "behind  rocks, 
among  roots,"  in  short,  in  the  same  parts  of  a  stream 
that  an  experienced  angler  expects  to  find  and  does  find 
the  brook  trout. 

The  sea  trout  will  take  the  same  bait,  rise  at  the  same 
fly,  and  rest  at  the  same  hours  of  the  day,  as  brook  trout. 
The  flies  that  I  ordered,  made  from  samples  furnished 
by  Mr.  Macdonough,  who  had  had  some  years'  experience 
on  the  stream  before  I  accompanied  him,  were  much 


SEA-TROUT.  61 

larger  and  more  gaudy  than  the  usual  trout  flies,  and 
ordinarily  were  sufficiently  taking  in  character  ;  but,  on 
very  bright  days,  when  the  water  was  low  and  clear,  we ' 
found  that  the  flies  used  by  us  on  the  Beaver  Kill,  and 
Neversink,  in  Sullivan  County,  New  York,  were  better. 
The  largest  trout  taken  by  us  on  this  bout — four  and 
one-quarter  pounds — was  hooked  with  a  stone  fly  made 
by  Pritchard  Brothers,  of  !N"ew  York,  for  use  on  those 
streams.  On  one  occasion,  I  took  at  one  cast,  and 
landed  safely,  two  trout,  weighing  three  pounds  and 
one-quarter,  and  one  and  three-quarters  pounds,  re- 
spectively, upon  one  of  the  said  stone  flies  and  a  medium- 
sized  gray  hackle. 

In  conclusion  of  this  part  of  my  article,  I  will  say 
that,  for  the  reasons  above  given,  I  have  no  doubt  but 
that  the  Canada  sea-trout  are  anadromous  brook  trout, 
and  that  they  should  be  classed  with  the  salmo  fonti- 
nalis,  or,  if  preferred,  salvelinus  fontinalis. 

The  trout  in  question  come  up  the  St.  Lawrence  from 
the  ocean  in  large  numbers,  and  file  off,  probably  in  ac- 
cordance with  the  instinct  of  anadromous  fishes,  to  the 
streams  in  which  they  were  severally  hatched.  The  de- 
tachment for  our  stream  reaches  it  invariably  in  the 
first  days  of  August.  "  When  once  fairly  in  the  current " 
(I  quote  from  Mr.  Macdonough's  paper),  '^  their  move- 
ments up-stream  are  very  rapid.  Passionless  and  almost 
sexless,  as  the  mode  of  the  nuptials  they  are  on  their, 
way  to  complete  may  seem  to  more  highly  organized 
beings,  they  drive  with  headlong  eagerness  through  tor- 


62  FISHING  WITH  THE  FLY. 

rent  and  foam,  toward  the  shining  reaches  and  grayelly 
beds  far  up  the  river,  where  their  ova  are  to  be  deposited. " 
'  They  stop  for  but  a  short  time  for  rest  in  certain  pools ; 
one  of  these  resting  places  was  directly  in  front  of  our 
tents.  Two,  three,  or  more,  could  be  taken  from  it  in 
the  morning ;  sometimes,  not  always,  in  the  evening ; 
but  assuredly  the  ensuing  morning ;  and  so  on,  until 
the  beginning  of  September. 

When  these  fish  return  to  ^'the  ocean,  that  great  re- 
ceptacle of  fishes,"  as  G-oldsmith  styles  it,  is  a  problem 
not  yet  solved.  Some  think  they  remain  until  winter, 
or  spring.  I  incline  to  the  opinion  that  they  go  back  to 
the  sea  in  the  fall  soon  after  their  procreative  duty  is 
performed.  It  is  well  known  that  the  salmo  fontinalis 
gives  no  care  or  thought  to  its  offspring ;  and  evinces 
no  love  or  affection  for  it  after  it  passes  the  embryotic 
or  ova-otic  stage  ;  and  that  during  that  stage  their  pa- 
rental fondness  is  akin  to  that  of  the  cannibal  for  the 
conventional  "fat  missionary."  The  voraciousness  that 
prompts  the  parent  trout  to  eat  all  the  eggs  they  can 
find  as  soon  as  deposited  and  fertilized,  would  also 
prompt  them  to  return  to  the  estuaries  so  well  stocked 
with  food  suited  to  their  taste  and  wants. 

What  becomes  of  the  young  fry  during  bslyIj  Jishhood 
is  another  problem.  From  the  fact  that  no  small  trout 
are  caught  or  seen  in  the  rivers,  at  the  source  and  in 
.the'  tributaries  of  which  millions  are  hatched,  it  is  fair 
to  assume  that  the  young  remain  where  they  were  incu- 
bated until  they  attain  age,  size,  and  strength  that  ena- 


SEA-TROUT.  63 

ble  them  to  evade,  if  not  defend  themselves  against, 
the  attack  of  their  many  enemies.  When  this  time 
arrives,  they  doubtless  accompany  their  parents,  or  the 
parents  of  other  troutlings  (it  is,  indeed,  a  wise  fish 
*nhat  knows  its  own  father" — or  mother),  on  their 
migration  to  the  sea.  During  our  stay  upon  the  stream 
I  caught  but  two  trout  as  small  as  one-fourth  of  a 
pound,  but  one  of  six  ounces,  and  few  as  small  as  half  a 
pound.  The  average  size  of  our  whole  catch  was  one 
pound  four  ounces. 

Since  writing  the  foregoing,  I  have  received  from  Dr. 
J.  A.  Henshall,  an  answer  to  a  letter  that  I  addressed 
to  him,  before  I  began  this  article,  in  which  I  asked  him 
to  give  me  the  nomenclature  of  the  sea  trout  of  the  lower 
St.  Lawrence,  and  also  to  inform  me  whether  he  thought 
these  fish  anadromous  brook  trout. 
•  I  here  record  my  thanks  to  the  Doctor  for  his  cour- 
teous compliance  with  my  request,  and  give  a  copy  of 
so  much  of  his  letter  as  relates  to  the  fish  under  consid- 
eration, which,  to  my  mind,  settles  the  question  of  the 
status  of  the  sea-trout  of  Canada. 

"Cynthiana,  Ky.,  Jan.  29,  1883. 

"Deae  Sir, — The  so-called  ' sea-trout '  or  'salmon-trout' of 
the  lower  St.  Lawrence,  is  the  brook  trout  {S.  fontinalis),  but 
having  access  to  the  sea,  becomes  anadromous,  and  like  all  anad- 
romous and  marine  fishes,  becomes  of  a  silvery  appearance,  losing, 
somewhat,  its  characteristic  colors.  The  brook  trout  has  a  wide 
range  (from  northern  Georgia  to  the  Arctic  regions),  and  of  course 
presents  some  geographical  variations  in  appearance,  habits,  etc.. 


64  FISHING  WITH  THE  FLT. 

but  does  not  vary  in  its  specific  relations.     Mr. "  (naming  an 

American  author  to  whom  I  referred),  "was  wrong  in  calling 
this  fish  Salmo  trutta  S.  trutta  is  a  European  species ;  and  if  he 
applied  the  name  to  the  Canadian  brook  trout  it  is  a  misnomer. 
I  cannot  say,  not  having  read "  (a  work  by  said  author  men- 
tioned by  me).     ' '  Trusting  this  may  meet  your  wants,  I  am, 

*'  Yours  very  sincerely, 
"J.  A.  Henshall. 
"  P.S. — On  next  page  please  find  nomenclature  of  the  sea-trout 
of  the  lower  St.  Lawrence. 

"Canadian  Sea-Trout. 
"  SeUvelinus  fontinalis,  (IVlitchill),  Gill  &  Jordan. 

"Synonomy. — Salmo  canadensis,  Ham.  Smith,  in  Griffith's 
Cuvier,  x,  474,  1834.  Salmo  immaculatus,  H.  R.  Storer,  in  Bosi. 
Jour: Wat.  Hist.,  vi,  364,  1850. 

"  Vernacular  Names. — Canadian  brook  trout,  sea- trout,  sal- 
mon trout,  unspotted  salmon,  white  sea-trout,  etc. 

"  Specific  Description. —Body  oblong  or  ovate,  moderately 
compressed;  depth  of  body  one-fourth  to  one-fifth  of  length; 
back  broad  and  rounded. 

"  Head  large,  not  very  long,  sloping  symmetrically  above  and 
below;  head  contained  four  or  five  times  in  length  of  body. 
Nostrils  double ;  vomer  boat-shaped ;  jaws  with  minute  teeth;  no 
teeth  on  hyoid  bone ;  mouth  large,  the  maxillary  reaching  to  the 
eye;  eye  large. 

"Scales  very  small,  in  two  hundred  and  twenty-five  transverse 
rows;  caudal  fin  slightly  lunate  in  adult,  forked  in  young;  adi- 
pose fin  small. 

"Fin  rays:  D.  10;  A.  9;  P.  13;  V.  8;  C.  19. 

"  Color:  back  mottled  with  dark  markings;  sides  lighter;  belly 
silvery  white ;  red  and  yellow  spots  on  body,  mostly  on  sides. 

"  Coloration  often  plain  and  silvery  in  sea-run  individuals." 

The  so-called  "  sea-trout  of  Long  Island,  as  stated 


SEA-TROUT.  65 

bj  Mr.  Charles  Hallock,  in  his  "Fishing Tourist,"  and 
of  certain  streams  in  Connecticut,  as  mentioned  by  Mr. 
W.  C.  Prime  in  "I  go  a-Fishing,"  are  genuine  brook 
trout.  Although  they  haye  access  to  the  salt  water, 
and  go  there  for  food— and  hence  are  fat  and  delicious 
in  flavor — they  are  not  anadromous  'brooTc  trout.  They 
do  not  "pass  from  the  sea  into  fresh  waters,  at  stated 
se«50ws "  (Webster's  Die).  They  are  caught  at  all 
times  from  February  or  March  until  the  following 
autumn  in  fresh  water,  and,  as  Hallock  expresses  it, 
"they  run  in  and  out  with  the  tide." 

When  this  article  was  commenced  it  was  my  inten- 
tion to  write  not  only  of  the  sea-trout,  but  to  give  an 
account  of  our  excursion  in  1874  ;  and  in  doing  so  to 
speak  of  the  events  of  each  day  succeeding  those  of 
which  I  have  written.  It  has  already  exceeded  in 
length  the  measure  that  was  fixed  upon,  hence  I  can 
give  the  reader  only  a  casual  glance  at  us  as  we  proceed 
to  our  destination  ;  and  a  look  now  and  then  into  our 
camp. 

I  left  our  party — breakfast  over — at  the  Sault  au 
Cochon,  at  about  eight  A.  M.  of  August  4th.  Soon 
thereafter  we  set  sail  and  made  such  progress  that  a  few 
hours  brought  us  to  the  mouth  of  our  river.  It  was 
low  tide  when  we  reached  it — low  tide  means  something 
here,  as  the  tide  has  a  rise  and  fall  of  fifteen  feet — and 
hence  the  anchor  was  dropped  near  the  river's  mouth, 
canoes  launched,  our  personal  baggage  transferred  to 
our  respective  canoes — Macdonough's  was  named  Com- 
5 


66^  FISHING  WITH  THE  FLY, 

modore,  in  honor  of  his  father,  who  made  an  imperish- 
able name  on  Lake  Champlain  in  the  war  of  1812,  and 
mine  La  Dame,  in  honor  of  some  one  who  lived  in  my 
imagination  ;  I  never  met  her  elsewhere.  In  the  third 
canoe  were  placed  the  tents,  camp  utensils,  and  stores 
for  twenty-four  hours.  When  all  was  in  readiness  I 
lighted  my  pipe,  seated  myself  on  the  bottom  of  my 
canoe,  leaned  back  against  one  of  the  lords  or  cross 
bars ;  then  David,  sitting  upon  the  V  formed  by  the 
sides  of  the  canoe  at  the  stern,  with  paddle  in  hand, 
sent  the  birch  bark  flying  up  our  river.  Like  most 
Canadian  trout  streams  it  consists  of  a  series  of  still, 
deep  pools,  and  swift,  rocky  rapids,  alternating.  Often 
the  rapids  have  a  fall  of  one  foot  in  ten,  and  are  from 
one  to  five,  and  sometimes  ten  or  more  rods  in  length. 
It  is  marvellous  how  these  canoeists  will  force  a  loaded 
canoe  up  them.  In  doing  so  they  stand  near  the  back 
end  and  use  a  long,  iron-pointed  *^  setting  pole."  Be- 
fore sunset  we  reached  our  camping  place,  five  or  six 
miles  from  the  St.  Lawrence.  The  guides  built  a  fire 
to  dispel  the  mosquitoes,  which  were  fearfully  numer- 
ous and  bloodthirsty,  and  then  set  about  pitching  our 
tents.  M.  and  I  lighted  cigars,  put  our  rods  together, 
and  in  ten  minutes'  time  had  taken  from  the  pool  in 
front  of  us,  each  two  trout,  weighing  from  one  pound 
two,  to  one  pound  eight  ounces  each.  Having  caught 
enough  for  dinner  we  busied  ourselves  in  arranging  our 
tents,  preparing  our  beds,  etc.  My  journal  for  the  day 
ends  with  the  following  brief  entry  :  Nine  p.  m. — We 


SEA- TROUT.  67 

are  now  settled  in  camp,  haye  eaten  a  good  dinner, 
smoked  our  cigars,  and  are  going  to  bed. 

Aug.  6t7i. — Having  had  a  good  night's  sleep  I  rose 
at  fiye  A.  m.,  made  a  hasty  toilet,  took  my  rod  and 
threw  into  the  pool,  within  forty  feet  of  my  tent,  and 
took  during  a  few  minutes  j;hree  trout  weighing  three- 
quarters,  one  and  a-quarter,  and  one  and  a-quarter 
pounds  respectively.  M.  soon  followed  and  caught  two 
of  one  and  a-quarter  pounds  each.  Breakfast  over  we 
sent  our  guides  with  the  canoes  down  to  the  clialoupe 
for  the  rest  of  our  tents,  stores,  etc.,  and  consequently 
we  can  only  fish  the  home  pool  to-day.  With  a  hat- 
chet I  cut  out  a  path  through  the  laurel  thicket  to  the 
head  of  the  pool,  six  or  eight  rods  distant ;  returned  to 
camp,  put  on  my  India  rubber  wading  pants  and  rub- 
ber shoes  (liaving  a  leather  sole  filled  with  Hungarian 
nails),  took  my  rod,  walked  to  the  head  of  the  pool, 
and  cast  my  flies  on  the  swift  waters.  In  an  instant  a 
pair  of  capacious  jaws  emerged  from  the  water.  I 
struck,  and  as  the  head  disappeared,  saw  the  tail  and 
half  the  body  of  an  enormous  trout.  ...  In  twenty 
minutes  the  fish  was  in  my  landing  net.  I  walked 
proudly  and  in  a  most  contented  frame  of  mind  back 
to  camp.  "  That,"  said  Mr.  Macdonough,  **  looks  like 
old  times."  The  scales  were  hooked  in  his  jaw,  the 
index  showed  three  pounds,  eight  ounces.  .  .  .  Our 
camp  is  on  a  sandy  point  of  land  around  which  curves 
the  pool,  and  from  which,  for  the  space  of  about  one- 
eighth  of  an  acre,  all  trees  were  cut  and  the  land  cleared 


68  FISHING  WITH  THE  FLY, 

off,  under  the  direction,  tradition  states,  of  Sir  Gore 
Ouseley,  who  first  encamped  here  about  twenty  years 
ago,  with  eighteen  servants,  retainers,  and  guides,  of 
whom  my  guide  was  one,  and  the  cook.  The  stumps 
have  rotted  away,  and  the  clearing  is  covered  with  tim- 
othy and  red- top  grasses.  We  have  cut  much  of  this 
with  our  knives,  and  intend  to  finish  haying  to-day. 
The  grass  when  cured  is  to  be  used  in  making  our  beds 
more  luxurious.  The  pool  in  front  is  nearly  two  hun- 
dred feet  across  at  one  point,  and  in  places  ten  or  fif- 
teen feet  deep.  In  the  centre  and  near  the  foot  is  a 
rock  island  about  seventy-five  feet  long.  In  the  foot 
of  the  pool  between  this  rock  and  our  camp  large  trout 
have  been  seen  at  all  hours  of  the  day. 

Opposite  our  camp  is  quite  a  hill  covered  with  spruce, 
larch,  and  white  birch.  We  have  canvas  beds,  sup- 
ported by  crotched  sticks  about  eighteen  inches  high, 
upon  which  poles  are  laid  and  the  canvas  stretched. 
5  p.  M. — I  have  filled  two  canvas  sacks  with  hay  for  a 
bed,  and  a  pillow-case  with  the  same,  for  a  bolster. 
These,  with  my  small  feather  pillow,  sheets,  blankets, 
and  night-shirts,  will  render  sleeping  in  the  "bush" 
Christian-like  and  endurable.  7  p.  m. — I  have  just  cast 
into  the  pool  and  caught  a  pound  and  a-half  trout, 
making  for  the  day  six  trout,  weighing  nine  pounds 
four  ounces,  and  have  not  fished  in  the  aggregate  one 
hour.  The  guides.  Captain  and  Fabian,  have  arrived 
with  the  three  canoes  and  all  stores. 

Aug.  6th,  7.30  A.  m. — We  have  just  finished  break- 


SEA-TROUT.  69 

fast.  It  consisted  of  coffee,  trout  fish-balls,  broiled 
ham,  rice  and  wheat  crepes  (pancakes)  with  butter  and 
maple  sugar.  My  guide  is  an  excellent  cook  and  our 
stores  abundant  and  of  good  quality.  We  purchased 
them  in  Quebec  at  a  cost  of  173.59  in  gold.  A  tub  of 
butter,  barrel  of  bread,  and  sack  of  coarse  salt,  to  pre- 
serve the  trout,  were  purchased  at  Tadousac,  and  cost 
111.34  in  gold. 

5  P.  M. — I  have  just  come  in  from  my  first  day's 
fishing.  Began  at  10  A.  m.,  quit  at  4  P.  m.  I  fished 
below  and  Macdonough  above  the  camp. 

M.  killed  15  fish,  weight  26  lbs.,  4oz. 

F.      *'      25  "  "      31  lbs.,  4  oz.  =  57  lbs.,  8  oz. 

Aug,  '^th. —  .  .  .  Dinner  is  a  great  institution 
with  us.  Next  to  catching  a  trout  of  three  pounds  or 
over  it  is  the  event  of  the  day.  Ours  of  this  evening 
was  as  follows  : 

Soap:  bean  with  extract  of  beef. 

Fish :  boiled  trout. 

Vegetables :  potatoes  and  boiled  onions. 

Pastry :  rice  cakes  and  maple  sugar. 

Dessert :  crackers,  cheese,  and  orange  marmalade. 

Wines :  claret  and  sherry. 

Tea:  English  breakfast. 

Our  canoes  are  beauties.  They  are  eighteen  feet  long, 
three  feet  three  inches  wide  in  the  centre,  and  fifteen 
inches  in  depth.  With  two  men  in  they  draw  but 
three  or  four  inches  of  water. 


70  FISHING  WITH  THE  FLY. 

Aug.  ^th, — "We  left  our  camp  with  one  tent,  two 
canoes,  and  provisions  for  four  days  ;  walked  through 
the  woods  three  miles  to  a  lake,  through  which  our 
river  runs,  which  is  eight  miles  above  us  by  the  stream. 

.  .  .  It  is  a  lovely  sheet  of  water  about  three  and 
a-half  miles  long  and  one  and  a-half  wide,  surrounded, 
except  at  the  inlet  and  outlet,  by  rocky  cliffs,  in  many 
places  five  to  eight  hundred  feet  high.     .     ,     . 

Aug.  10th. — To  our  usual  breakfast  was  added  this 
morning  a  broiled  partridge  (ruffed  grouse)  which 
Fabian  killed  with  a  stick  or  stone  yesterday,  in  mak- 
ing the  portage.  While  at  breakfast  a  gray  or  silver 
fox  ran  past  us  within  twenty  feet  of  where  we  sat. 
The  woods  are  filled  with  squirrels  ;  their  chattering  is 
heard  constantly.  Large  and  very  tame  fish-hawks 
abound — reminding  one  of  the  beach  from  Sandy  Hook 
to  Long  Branch.  .  .  .  "We  have  tickled  the  lake 
with  a  spinner,  trolled  with  a  long  hand  line,  for  pick- 
erel. We  fished  but  an 'hour  with  two  lines.  We  caught 
fourteen,  weighing  thirty-four  pounds. 

Aug.  11th. — We  fished  down  from  the  Middle  Camp 
(as  our  present  one  is  called).  M.  had  the  morniiig's 
fishing  in  the  *^  spring  hole,"  and  took  six  fish  averag- 
ing two  pounds  each.  In  the  Magdalen  pool  I  took 
three  one  pound  trout  immediately  upon  throwing  in. 
Suddenly  not  ten  feet  from  where  I  stood  (I  was  in  the 
water  up  nearly  to  my  waist),  and  directly  in  front  of 
me,  a  monster  fish  from  three  to  four  feet  long,  and  of 
thirty  or  thirty-five  pounds  weight,  shot  up  from  the 


8EA.TR0UT.  71 

water,  stood  seemingly  upon  its  tail  for  an  instant,  and 
with  a  heavy  splash  fell  oyer  into  the  pool.  ^^My 
God!  what  is  that?"  I  asked  my  guide.  "It's  a 
saumon,  sir,"  he  calmly  replied.  I  was  all  excitement 
and  began  whipping  vigorously  where  it  rose.  Failing  to 
get  it  up,  I  put  on  a  salmon  fly.  By  this  time  salmon 
were  leaping  above  me,  below  me,  and  at  my  very  feet. 
I  whipped  diligently,  letting  my  fly  fall  like  thistle- 
down upon  the  water,  and  then  with  a  splash  to  attract 
attention,  and  now  letting  it  sink  and  float  with  the 
current.  It  was  all  in  vain  ;  three  hours  of  my  most 
skilful  fishing  failed  to  entice  one  of  the  wily  monsters. 
Neither  could  I  get  up  a  trout;  they  had  all  been 
driven  away  by  the  salmon.  I  caused  my  guide  to 
paddle  me  over  the  still  pool  just  above,  and  saw  in  the 
pellucid  water,  three  or  four  feet  beneath  the  surface, 
ten  or  fifteen  large  salmon.  They  lay  perfectly  still 
for  a  time,  and  then  darted  through  and  around  the 
pool  in  every  direction,  as  if  in  "play.  Suddenly  they 
would  congregate  in  the  centre  of  the  pool  and  lay 
with  their  heads  up  stream,  the  largest  slightly  in  ad- 
vance of  the  rest,  as  motionless  as  if  the  water  had  be- 
come ice,  encasing  the  fish. 

Aug.  12th. — At  Main  Camp.  .  .  .  The  canoeing 
down  from  the  Middle  Camp — five  miles— was  delight- 
ful, and  at  times  very  exciting  ;  that  is,  in  running  the 
rapids,  which  are  numerous.  In  making  a  portage 
around  the  "  Little  Falls  "  we  started  up  a  cock  par- 
tridge.    It  alighted  upon  the  limb  of  a  dead  tree  no 


72  FI8HINO  WITH  THE  FLY. 

higher  than  my  head.  We  approached  within  six  feet 
of  it,  and  stood  for  a  minute  or  two  gazing  at  the  grace- 
ful bird.  It  returned  our  gaze  with  head  turned  aside, 
and  a  look  of  curious  inquiry  which  said,  as  plainly  as 
if  it  had  spoken,  '^What  kind  of  animals  are  you?" 
I  could  easily  haye  hit  it  with  my  landing-net  handle 
but  would  not  make  it  ''  a  victim  of  misplaced  confi- 
dence." Tliis  incident  reminded  me  of  the  lines  of 
Alexander  Selkirk,  in  the  English  Reader,  which  was 
in  use  in  my  early  school- boy  days  : 

"They  are  so  unacquainted  with  man, 
Their  lameness  is  shocking  to  me." 

I  may  add  that  squirrels  were  constantly  running  about 
our  camp,  exhibiting  no  more  fear  than  those  in  the 
parks  of  Philadelphia. 

Aug,  lUh. — '^  David  build  a  fire  between  our  tents, 
it  is  cold,"  I  called  out  about  five  o'clock  this  morn- 
ing. ^'  Yes,  sir,"  he  replied ;  ''  a  black  frost  this 
morning,  had  to  thaw  out  my  boots  before  I  could  get 
them  on."  Our  little  encampment  consists  of  two 
wall  tents,  ten  feet  square,  for  the  use  of  Mr.  Macdon- 
ough  and  myself.  They  are  about  fifteen  feet  apart, 
opening  towards  each  other,  upon  a  line  twenty  feet 
from  the  pool,  upon  ground  five  or  six  feet  above  it. 
Back  of  our  tents  is  our  dining-table,  made  of  planks 
split  from  the  spruce,  and  sheltered  with  a  tent  fly.  In 
rear  of  this  is  the  kitchen  fire  ;  and  still  farther  back, 
two  "A  tents,"  one  for  the  use  of  our  men,  and  the 
other  for  the  protection  of  our  stores. 


SEA-TROTTT.  73 

I  do  not  often  look  into  our  kitchen:  Seeing  Fabian 
wipe  my  silver-plated  fork  upon  his  pantaloons,  be- 
tween courses,  cured  me  of  this.  *' Where  ignorance 
is  bliss  'tis  folly  to  be  wise."  I  did,  however,  look 
into  the  kitchen  to-day  to  see  how  our  excellent  bread 
was  baked.  It  was  properly  made  with  "  raising  pow- 
der," kneaded  and  formed  into  loaves.  A  trench  was 
dug  in  the  ashes  and  sand,  forming  the  bed  of  our 
camp  fire,  wide  and  long  enough  to  admit  of  three 
loaves.  They  were  put  into  the  trench,  without  any 
covering  except  the  hot  sand  and  ashes,  with  which 
they  were  surrounded  on  all  sides,  top  and  bottom. 
Live  coals  were  raked  over  the  mound,  and  it  was  left 
for  time  and  heat  to  do  the  rest.  An  hour  or  so  after 
I  saw  the  bread  taken  from  the  ashes.  It  was  brushed 
slightly  with  a  wisp  broom,  which  removed  the  little  of 
ashes  and  sand  adhering ;  and  the  bread  was  as  clean 
as  if  it  had  just  left  the  baker's  oven,  and  was  of  a  uni- 
form rich  brown  color.  Lamb  and  green  peas  (French 
canned)  formed  one  course  at  dinner  to-day.  The 
flavor  of  fresh  mutton  is  much  improved  by  non-inter- 
course with  the  butcher  for  two  weeks.. 

Sunday,  Aug.  16. — Another  bright  and  beautiful  day. 
It  would  be  pleasant  to  hear  "  the  sound  of  the  church- 
going  bell,  which  these  rocks  and  these  valleys  ne'er 
heard,"  It  is  now  near  two  weeks  since  we  entered 
upon  our  camp  life,  and  we  have  seen  no  signs  of  civil- 
ization, save  in  our  camp  ;  nothing  but  forest,  rock, 
water  and   sky,  all  as  they  came   from  their  Great 


74  FISHINa  WITH  THE  FLY, 

Creator's  hand.  No  sounds  have  been  heard  to  carry 
us  back  in  thought  to  the  world  of  life  and  labor,  save 
the  occasional  booming  of  the  fog  cannon  at  a  govern- 
ment station  on  the  south  side  of  the  St.  Lawrence. 
How  strangely  did  the  warning  voice  of  this  gun,  tel- 
ling us  of  danger  to  the  mariner,  break  upon  the 
silence  of  the  hour  as  we  sat  watching  the  fairy  forms 
and  fantastic  shapes  in  our  first  evening's  camp-fire  ! 

Pleasant  as  it  is  to  the  writer  to  live  over  again  the 
days  of  which  he  has  written — to  dwell  upon  the 
scenes  in  which  he  was  an  actor,  so  vividly  presented 
to  his  mind's  eye  as  he  writes  of  them — pity  for  the 
too-long  suffering  reader  has  prompted  him  to  close 
the  lids  of  his  journal  and  restore  it  to  its  place  in  the 
book-case. 

It  only  remains  to  write  somewhat  of  our  success  in 
fishing.  The  season  was  a  very  dry  one,  our  river  very 
low,  and  no  rain  sufiBcient  to  affect  it  fell  during  our 
stay,  consequently  the  trout  did  not  come  up  in  as  large 
numbers  as  usual,  and  the  clearness  of  the  water  ren- 
dered successful  fly-fishing  more  difficult.  We  caught 
on  this  occasion  but  two  hundred  and  forty-three  trout, 
of  the  aggregate  weight  of  three  hundred  and  four 
pounds.  All  these  fish  were  taken  with  a  fly,  save  one: 
thereby  hangs  a  tale  heretofore  untold.  At  Tadousac, 
on  our  way  out,  I  saw  a  gentleman,  to  whom  I  had 
been  introduced,  making  something  in  the  construction 
of  which  he  used  three  snelled  hooks  and  about  three 
inches  in  length  of  thin  white  rubber  tubing.    I  asked 


8E A- TROUT.  75 

''What  is  it  ?  "  *'  A  devil/'  he  replied.  He  gaye  me 
materials,  and  while  sailing  down  the  river  I  made 
one.  One  day  at  the  Home  Pool  I  saw  ten  or  a  dozen 
large  trout.  They  paid  no  heed  to  my  flies.  "  Try  the 
devil/'  my  guide  whispered.  In  a  moment  of  weakness 
I  yielded  to  the  tempter  and  put  it  on.  The  first  cast 
caused  commotion  in  the  watery  camp.  At  the  second 
I  struck  and  soon  drew  out  on  the  beach  a  pound  and 
a  half  trout.  I  looked  upon  the  beautiful  fish  with 
compassion,  cursed  myself  for  resorting  to  such  unfair 
means,  removed  the  cruel  hooks  as  tenderly  as  I  could 
from  the  mangled  and  bleeding  mouth,  and  taking  off 
the  devilish  invention  threw  it  as  far  as  possible  into 
the  woods. 

...        .    '*  The  beasts  of  game 
The  privilege  of  chase  may  claim." 

I  have  not  since  used,  and  shall  not  in  the  future 
use,  this  rightly  named  instrument,  and  hope  no  angler 
will.  I  have  narrated  this  only  unpleasant  feature  of 
my  bout  to  illustrate  the  devilish  ingenuity  of  "  pot 
fishermen"  and  the  curiosity  of  sea-trout.  I  wonder 
what  was  the  gender  of  the  fish  ! 

With  a  view  of  showing  the  capabilities  of  our  river 
in  the  production  of  fish,  I  have  aggregated  the  scores 
from  1872  to  1882  inclusive.  In  one  of  these  years 
three  rods  were  in  use,  in  three  others  two,  and  in  the 
other  years  but  one.  The  average  time  of  fishing  in 
each  year  was  about  three  weeks. 

Number  of  trout  taken,  5,525;   aggregate  weight. 


76  FISHIWG  WITH  THE  FLY. 

6,625i  pounds  ;  average  about  one  pound  three  ounces. 
In  the  year  1881  the  average  size  of  two  hundred  and 
thirteen  trout  taken  with  a  single  rod  in  eight  days' 
fishing  was  one  pound  fourteen  ounces.  Not  one  of 
these  fish  was  wasted.  A  few  were  eaten  upon  the 
stream,  but  most  of  them  were  given  to  the  guides, 
who  salted  and  packed  them  in  barrels  for  future  use. 
A  sack  of  coarse  salt  and  empty  fish  barrels  were  always 
included  in  the  anglers'  stores. 

Three  days  after  the  last  date  mentioned  we  were 
again  on  board  our  chaloupe  ''  homeward  bound."  The 
loss  in  weight  in  our  stores  was  made  good  by  the  barrel 
of  salted  anadromous  salvelinus-fontinalis  which  were 
to  supplement  and  eke  out  the  pork  barrel  of  our 
honest  and  worthy  guides  during  the  long  ice-bound 
winter  before  them. 

Tadousac  was  reached  about  sunrise  on  a  bright 
morning.  At  nine  o'clock  we  were  in  citizen's  dress  and 
seated  at  the  hotel  breakfast  table.  A  glance  around 
the  room  showed  that  summer  birds  and  Cook's  tourists 
had  mainly  migrated  to  more  southern  latitudes.  Our 
trunks  were  re-packed,  our  guides  paid  ^1.50  each  per 
day,  and  the  captain  $2.00,  gold,  and  bade  adieu.  "We 
took  the  Saguenay  steamboat  for  Quebec,  the  Grand 
Trunk  Eailroad  from  Point  Levi  to  Montreal,  where 
we  passed  the  night.  The  next  morning  we  travelled 
by  rail  to  Konse's  Point  and  by  boat  down  that  charm- 
ing Lake,  Champlain.  At  the  various  landings  many 
persons,  including  several   friends,  came   on   board. 


SEA-TROUT.  77 

Nearly  all  carried  snugly-cased  fishing  rods,  whose  sum- 
mer work  was  ended.  The  Chateaugay,  the  Saranacs, 
Paul  Smith's,  Baker's,  Martin's,  and  various  other 
familiar  names  met  our  ears.  We  envied  none  of  them. 
Our  cup  of  joy,  happiness  and  contentment  was  full  to 
the  brim.  There  was  no  room  for  "  envy,  hatred  and 
malice,"  but  a  feeling  of  gratitude  and  thankfulness  to 
the  Author  of  every  *^good  and  perfect  gift,"  welled 
up  from  our  hearts. 


*'  To  one  escaping  but  seldom  from  the  weary  routine  of  office 
work,  to  swing  even  a  seven-ounce  rod  all  day  may  become  a 
burden ;  while  to  him  whose  muscles  are  braced  by  abundant 
exercise  and  robust  health  it  seems  but  as  a  feather's  weight. 
The  truth  is,  that  there  is  in  this  matter  no  hard  and  fast  line 
where  dogmatism  may  take  its  stand  and  say,  this  is  right  and  that 
is  vyrong.  Let  each  use  that  rod  which  to  him  affords  the  most 
pleasure,  and  for  him  that  rod  is  the  best,  whether  it  be  forty  feet 
long  or  only  two. " — Henry  P.  Wells. 

"  There  is  certainly  something  in  angling  that  tends  to  produce 
a  gentleness  of  spirit,  and  a  pure  sincerity  of  mind." —  Washington 
Irving. 

"The  flies  used  in  lake  fishing  are  larger  than  those  for  rivers  ; 
and  I  have  frequently  observed  that  the  winged  flies  answer  better 
than  palmers.  Perhaps  the  cause  of  this  may  be,  that  many  rivers 
and  small  trout  streams  are  bordered  with  trees,  which  overhang 
them,  and  from  which  drop  the  insects  that  the  palmers  imitate. " 
—T.  0.  Hofland. 

"  When  a  trout  cnooses  to  prey  upon  what  he  thinks  is  weaker 
than  himself,  the  angler  ought  not  to  be  blamed  for  it." — O.  W. 
Bethune,  D.D. 

"  I  said  anglers  were  born,  not  made  ;  but  when  born  they  can 
be  improved,  and  wish  to  learn  as  well  as  teach." — Fitz  James 
Fitch. 

*'  Imitate  never  so  closely  the  form  and  general  character  of  the 
fly  at  which  the  fish  are  rising — if  the  color  he  wanting  you  will 
have  no  sport." — Hewett  WheaUey. 

"Always  strike  from  the  reel  by  leaving  the  line  free  from 
pressure  of  the  fingers,  and  then  you  don't  strike  too  hard." — Fred 
Mather. 

"  It  is  of  record  that  when  the  Pilgrims  went  to  King  James  for 
their  charter  they  said  to  him  that  they  desired  to  go  to  the  new 
world  to  worship  God  and  catch  fish." — Samuel  S.  Cox. 


3Li^KE      FI^IES. 


Made  by  C.F.ORVIS.  Manchester. Vt 


CO  PYR  I  G  H  TE  D 


"  Every  angler  has  his  own  peculiar  notion  in  regard  to  the 
best  fly ;  and  the  difficulty  of  presenting  a  perfect  catalogue  will 
be  very  apparent,  when  it  is  considered  that  the  name  of  the  fly 
of  one  writer  bears  a  different  name  and  description  from  that  of 
another,  and  it  is  more  than  probable  that  the  name  and  descrip- 
tion of  some  of  the  flies  in  my  list  may  not  be  in  accordance  with 
the  views  and  opinions  of  many  old  and  experienced  anglers." — 
^^ Frank  Forester." 

"  After  staying  in  a  village  parlor  till  the  family  had  all  retired, 
I  have  returned  to  the  woods,  and  partly  with  a  view  to  the  next 
day's  dinner,  spent  the  hours  of  midnight  fishing  from  a  boat  by 
moonlight,  serenaded  by  owls  and  foxes,  and  hearing,  from  time 
to  time,  the  croaking  note  of  some  unknown  bird  close  at  hand." 
— Henry  D.  Thoreau. 

7.  Ferguson.  8.  Abbey. 

9.  Royal  Coachman.  10.  Seth  Green. 

II.  Professor.  12.  Montreal. 

*'  He  sat  down  on  a  lump  of  granite,  and  took  out  his  fly-book. 
It  is  a  sport,  he  added,  as  he  was  selecting  the  flies,  that  there  is 
less  to  be  said  against  than  shooting,  1  imagine.  I  don't  like  the 
idea  of  shooting  birds,  especially  after  I  have  missed  one  or  two. 
Birds  are  such  harmless  creatures.  But  the  fish  is  different — the 
fish  is  making  a  murderous  snap  at  an  innocent  fly,  when  a  little 
bit  of  steel  catches  him  in.  the  very  act.  It  serves  him  right,  from 
the  moral  point  of  view." — William  Black. 

"  There  is  much  diversity  of  opinion  about  the  manner  of  fish- 
ing, whether  up  or  down  the  stream  ;  the  great  majority  of  ang- 
lers, both  in  Europe  and  this  country,  favor  the  latter  method, 
and  very  few  the  former." — Jolm  J.  Brown, 

*'  *  Beautiful  1 '  Well  you  may  say  so,  for  what  is  more  beauti- 
ful than  a  well-developed  pound  trout  ?  ''—Charles  W.  Stevens. 


*'  Reader,  did  you  ever  throw  the  fly  to  tempt  the  silvery  deni- 
zen of  the  lake,  or  river,  to  his  destruction  ?  Have  you  watched 
him,  as  it  skimmed  like  a  living  insect  along  the  surface,  dart 
from  his  hiding-place,  and  rush  upon  the  tempting  but  deceitful 
morsel  ;  and  have  you  noticed  his  astonishment  when  he  found 
the  hook  was  in  his  jaw  ?  Have  you  watched  him  as  he  bent  your 
slender  rod  *  like  a  reed  shaken  by  the  wind,'  in  his  efforts  to  free 
himself,  and  then  have  you  reeled  him  to  your  hand  and  de- 
posited him  in  your  basket,  as  the  spoil  of  your  good  right  arm  ? 
If  you  have  not,  leave  the  dull,  monotonous,  every-day  things 
around  you,  and  flee  to  the  Chazy  Lake." — S.  H.  Hammond. 

"I  now  come  to  not  only  the  most  sportsman-like,  but  the  most 
delightful  method  of  trout-fishing.  One  not  only  endeared  by  a 
thousand  delightful  memories,  but  by  the  devotion  of  many  of  our 
wisest  and  best  men  for  ages  past ;  and,  next  to  my  thanks  for 
existence,  health,  and  daily  bread,  I  thank  God  for  the  good  gift 
of  fly-fishing.  If  the  fishes  are  to  be  killed  for  our  use,  there  is 
no  way  in  which  they  are  put  to  so  little  pain  as  in  fly-fishing. 
The  fish  rises,  takes  your  fly  as  though  it  were  his  ordinary 
food  ;  the  hook  fixes  in  the  hard  gristly  jaw,  where  there  is  little 
or  no  sensation.  After  a  few  struggles  he  is  hauled  on  shore,  and 
a  tap  on  the  head  terminates  his  life  ;  and  so  slight  is  the  pain  or 
alarm  that  he  feels  from  the  hook,  that  I  have  over  and  over 
caught  a  trout,  with  the  fly  still  in  his  mouth  which  he  has  broken 
off  in  his  struggles  an  hour  or  even  half  an  hour  previously.  I 
have  seen  fish  that  have  thus  broken  off  swim  away  with  my  fly 
in  their  mouths  and  begin  to  rise  at  the  natural  fly  again  almost 
directly."— i'Vawcis  Francis. 

"  That  is  the  sport,  to  throw  the  fly,  and  in  half  a  minute  take 
it  quickly  out.  Though  the  whole  earth  is  given  to  the  children 
of  n\en,  none  but  we  jolly  fishers  get  the  plums  and  raisins  of  it 
by  the  rivers  which  run  along  the  hills."— CZ/iaT-ies  Kingsky. 


EANGELEY  BEOOK  TEOUT. 

BY 
JAMES  A.  WILLIAMSON, 
Sec.  Oquoseoc  Angling  Association. 


About  twelve  summers  ago,  when  spending  a  delight- 
ful vacation  at  Manchester,  Vermont,  under  the  shadow 
of  Mt.  Equinox,  my  attention  was  called  to  a  little  book 
which  gave  a  description  of  the  exceptionally  large 
brook  trout  inhabiting  the  waters  of  the  Eangeley 
Lakes. 

Never  having  heard,  heretofore,  of  a  fish  of  that  spe- 
cies that  weighed  more  than  three  pounds,  and  never 
having  caught  any  over  a  pound  and  a  half  (although 
I  had  dropped  a  line  in  many  waters  and  exerted  my 
utmost  muscle  in  casting  a  line  for  fingerlings),  I  could 
not  bring  my  mind  to  believe  that  such  fish  as  were 
described  really  existed,  and  at  once  pronounced  it  an- 
other fish  story.  Although  much  interested  in  the 
narrative  I  finally  threw  down  the  book  in  disgust,  and 
as  I  did  so,  observed  for  the  first  time  that  the  author 
was  Eobert  Gr.  AUerton,  a  very  old  friend,  whom  I  had 
always  esteemed  a  man  of  veracity.  I  at  once  took  a 
new  interest  in  the  subject  and  determined  to  investi- 
gate the  matter  personally.  I  came  to  New  York,  had 
6 


82  FISHING  WITH  THE  FLY. 

an  interview  with  Mr.  AUerton,  who  was  the  Treasurer 
of  the  Oquossoe  Angling  Association,  and  by  his  advice 
joined  the  club,  and  in  due  time  started  for  the  prom- 
ised land  of  mountains,  lakes,  and  large  trout,  and  after 
the  usual  vicissitudes  of  travel  reached  my  destination 
at  Camp  Kennebago  about  the  middle  of  September. 

The  forests  were  just  developing  their  autumnal 
hues,  the  air  was  fresh  and  bracing,  and  all  nature 
seemed  to  conspire  to  make  one  realize  that  there  was 
health  in  every  breath  inhaled,  and  beauty  in  every 
phase  of  land  and  water.  Having  secured  a  first-rate 
guide  and  boat,  and  partaken  of  a  trout  breakfast, 
which  was  relished  immensely,  such  as  can  only  be 
appreciated  by  one  who  has  left  the  haunts  of  civil- 
ization and  gone  into  the  wilderness  for  recupera- 
tion, I  considered  my  first  duty  was  to  pay  my  respects 
to  Mr.  AUerton,  who  was  in  camp  at  Bugle  Cove. 
From  this  location  Lake  Mooselemeguntic  lies  spread 
out  before  you,  while  Mt.  Washington  in  the  distance 
rears  its  snowy  peak,  overtopping  Jefferson,  Monroe, 
and  the  other  giants  of  the  White  Hills  of  New  Hamp- 
shire. 

The  crystal  waters  of  .the  lake  tempt  us  to  cast  a  fly, 
and  a  suitable  place  having  been  secured,  we  proceed  to 
business.  After  making  several  casts  in  a  manner 
more  or  less  scientific  but  without  success,  my  former 
unbelief  came  creeping  over  me,  and,  as  my  arm  became 
tired  and  almost  refused  to  do  its  duty,  a  sense  of 
despondency  overcame  me,  which  I  am  sure  sensibly 


KANGELEY  BROOK  TBO UT.  83 

affected  the  beauty  if  not  the  efficacy  of  my  casts.  But 
suddenly  I  am  awakened  to  the  realization  of  the  fact 
that  a  big  fish  has  seized  the  fly  and  is  making  the  reel 
hum  in  its  frantic  endeayors  to  secure  its  liberty. 
Fathom  after  fathom  of  the  dainty  line  disappears  be- 
neath the  water,  and  at  last  prudence  dictates  a  gentle 
snub,  which  finally  terminates  in  a  decided  check  to  the 
mad  career  of  the  quarry.  Having  succeeded  in  turn- 
ing his  head  in  a  different  direction,  another  rush  is 
made  across  stream,  making  the  line  whiz  as  it  cuts 
through  the  water  ;  then  suddenly  he  takes  a  downward 
course  and  ceases  from  all  apparent  effort  to  free  him- 
self. He  now  sulks  for  a  long  time,  and  impatience 
begins  to  take  the  place  of  the  excitement  with  which 
the  fight  began.  The  guide,  who,  during  the  fray  had 
hoisted  his  anchor,  got  ready  his  landing-net,  and  was 
n9w  holding  his  boat  in  position  with  the  oars,  sug- 
gested that  I  had  better  send  him  a  telegraphic  message, 
which  was  accordingly  done  by  striking  the  rod  with  a 
key.  The  first  few  strokes  seemed  to  make  little  or  no 
impression,  but  presently  he  convinced  us  that  he  was 
still  there,  although  we  had  some  forebodings  that  he 
had  escaped  by  winding  the  line  around  a  log  or  some 
other  object  at  the  bottom  of  the  stream.  He  was  up 
and  alive  in  every  sense,  and  performed  the  same  tactics 
for  liberty  with  apparently  more  vigor  than  at  first. 
These  were  kept  up  for  about  half  an  hour,  when  he  again 
took  a  turn  of  sulking,  but  this  time  of  shorter  dura- 
tion, and  when  he  again  began  his  rushes  it  was  with 


84  FISHING  WITU  THE  FLT, 

an  eyident  loss  of  strength,  but  no  diminution  of  de- 
termination and  pluck. 

A  friend  who  was  watching  and  timing  me  from  his 
boat  came  over  to  inquire  how  the  battle  was  progress- 
ing, and  pertinently  asked,  "Whether  the  fish  was 
going  to  take  me  or  I  the  fish."  At  last  the  strength 
of  the  tackle,  the  pliability  of  the  rod,  and  the  determi- 
nation of  the  rodster  overcame  the  pluck  and  strength 
of  the  fish,  and  he  was  brought  to  the  boat  turned  upon 
his  side  and  was  beautifully  landed  by  the  guide.  The 
scales  were  at  once  applied,  with  a  result  of  eight 
pounds  full  weight. 

My  inquiring  and  interested  friend  informed  me  that 
I  had  been  two  hours  and  twenty  minutes  in  the  fight, 
and  as  I  sat  down  in  the  boat  I,  for  the  first  time,  real- 
ized that  I  was  tired. 

Now,  my  dear  reader,  do  not  think  that  this  kind  of 
sport  is  of  common  occurrence,  for  from  that  time  to 
this,  I  have  taken  but  two  fish  of  equal  weight ;  the 
average,  however,  has  been  much  larger  than  trout 
from  any  other  locality  in  which  I  have  fished.  Any 
fish  under  half  a  pound  is  considered  unfit  to  land, 
and  is  again  committed  to  the  water  to  grow  larger. 
The  number  of  trout  does  not  seem  to  be  falling  off ; 
but  this  can  be  accounted  for  by  the  annual  plant  of 
fry  from  the  Hatching  House  of  the  Oquossoc  Angling 
Association,  who  have  for  years  past  turned  about  one 
million  fish  into  these  waters,  and  now  contemplate  in- 
creasing the  amount  to  five  million  ;  still  I  think  there 


BANGELET  BROOK  TROUT,  85 

is  a  sensible  diminution  of  the  size  of  the  catch,  which 
now  run  from  one-half  to  four  pounds,  and  anything 
oyer  that  weight  is  the  exception.  This  would  seem  to 
confirm  the  supposition  of  Professor  Agassiz,  made 
many  years  ago,  that  these  large  fish  possibly  may  have 
reached  an  age  of  from  100  to  200  years,  as  they  were 
evidently  very  old. 

Any  one  who  has  been  thrilled  with  the  vigorous 
strike  of  one  of  the  ordinary  sized  fish  would  be  almost 
beside  himself  when  one  from  three  to  five  pounds 
rose  to  his  fly,  and  if  his  tackle  was  good,  the  sport  de- 
rived therefrom  would  serve  him  a  lifetime  ;  and  when 
the  shades  of  night  had  fallen  upon  the  camp,  and  he 
with  his  fellow-fishermen  collected  around  the  great 
fire,  point  and  vigor  would  be  given  to  his  recital  of 
how  he  caught  and  played  the  monster  he  that  day  had 
brought  to  his  creel. 


"  Athenaeus — called  by  Suidas  '  a  literary  man ' — who  wrote  in 
the  middle  of  the  third  century,  cites  in  his  writings  no  less  than 
1,200  separate  works  and  800  authors,  and  of  the  latter  the  names 
of  a  very  large  number  are  given  in  his  *  Banquet  of  the  Learned  ' 
as  those  of  authors  who  had  written  on  fish  and  fishing. " — Rev.  J. 
J.  Manley. 

"A  huge  fish  takes  the  \>2M  faUacious^  suspended  from  the  rod." 
—Theocritus  (270  b.c). 

"  I  have  heard  of  a  Macedonian  way  of  catching  fish,  and  it  is 
this :  They  fasten  red  wool  round  a  hook  and  fit  on  to  the  wool  two 
feathers  which  grow  under  a  cockls  wattles,  and  which  in  color  are 
like  wax.  Their  rod  is  six  feet  long  and  the  line  is  of  the  same 
length.  Then  they  throw  their  snare,  and  the  fish,  attracted  and 
maddened  by  the  color,  comes  up,  thinking  from  the  pretty  sight 
to  get  a  dainty  mouthful ;  when,  however,  it  opens  its  jaws,  it  is 
caught  by  the  hook  and  enjoys  a  bitter  repast,  a  captive." — JEJlian 
(second  century). 

' '  While  the  other,  stooping  over  the  rocks  toward  the  waters 
below,  lowers  the  bending  top  of  his  limber  rod,  casting  his  hooks 
laden  with  killing  baits.  Upon  these  the  vagrant  crowd  of  fishes, 
unskilled  in  snares,  rush,  and  their  gaping  jaws  feel  too  late  the 
wounds  inflicted  by  the  hidden  steel." — Avsonius  (fourth  cen- 
tury). 

' '  Nor  shall  I  leave  thee  unhonored  in  my  discourse,  O  Thymal- 
lus  (grayling),  whose  name  is  given  thee  by  a  flower ;  whether  the 
waters  of  the  Ticino  produce  thee  or  those  of  the  pleasant  Atesis, 
a  flower  thou  art.  In  fine,  the  common  saying  attests  it ;  for  it  is 
pleasantly  said  of  one  who  gives  out  an  agreeable  sweetness,  he 
smells  either  of  fish  or  flower  :  thus  the  fragrance  of  the  fish  is 
asserted  to  be  the  same  as  that  of  the  flowers.  What  is  more  pleas- 
ing than  thy  form  ?  More  delightful  than  thy  sweetness  ?  More 
fragrant  than  thy  smell  ?  ^^—8t.  Ambrose,  Bishop  of  Milan. 


FLY-FISHING   FOR  TROUT  IN   THE    RANGELY 
REGION. 

BY 

HENRY  P.  WELLS. 


The  cosmopolitan  angler,  he  who  wets  his  line  in 
many  waters  in  many  localities,  recognizes  and  is  gov- 
erned by  one  truth,  of  the  existence  of  which  the  experi- 
ence of  him  who  confines  his  fly-fishing  to  a  single  re- 
stricted locality,  gives  no  intimation. 

The  conservative  EngHshman  differs  from  the  more  pro- 
gressive American,  and  the  phlegmatic  Dutchman  from 
the  vivacious  Frenchman.  All  may  be  gentlemen  in  the 
highest  sense  of  the  term,  yet  each  has  his  local  whims 
and  peculiarities,  a  due  deference  to  which  is  one  of  the 
conditions  of  successful  and  profitable  intercourse  with 
him. 

The  widely  experienced  angler  recognizes  these  local 
differences  in  trout,  as  in  men.  He  therefore  stocks  his 
fly-book  with  many  sizes  of  many-colored  flies  ;  while  the 
other  contents  himseK  with  half  a  dozen  varieties,  possibly 
of  two  shghtly  different  sizes,  and  smiles  with  scarcely 
disguised  pity  and  contempt  at  the,  in  his  opinion,  quan- 
tity of  useless  limiber  which  fills  the  former's  fly-book 


88  FISHING  WITH  THE  FLY. 

As  trout  prefer  different  flies  in  different  waters,  so 
have  they  also  a  preference  as  to  the  manner  in  which 
they  shall  be  served  to  them. 

The  Turk  curls  his  legs  under  him  and  attacks  his 
food  with  the  implements  which  nature  has  provided 
him,  while  the  European  insists  on  a  plate,  knife,  and 
fork. 

Fishing  for  trout  in  the  Rangely  region  is  a  case  in 
point. 

Every  angler  who  visits  that  home  of  large  trout,  as- 
pires to  the  biggest.  The  following  remarks  apply 
solely  to  the  method  of  taking  such,  and  with  the  fly 
only.  Small  fish  up  to  two,  or  two  and  a  half  pounds, 
can  readily  be  taken  there  in  the  usual  manner,  and  by 
the  exercise  of  a  very  moderate  degree  of  skill. 

In  ten  quite  protracted  trips  to  those  waters,  I  have 
never  seen  nor  heard  of  a  trout  exceeding  two  pounds  in 
weight  rising  to  a  natural  fly.  Rise  the  large  ones  do, 
rolling  up  to  the  surface  with  a  svrirl  like  that  made  by 
the  blade  of  an  eighteen-foot  oar,  showing  a  breadth  of 
tail  and  side  that  causes  the  heart  of  the  unaccustomed 
angler  to  bound  into  his  throat,  and  nearly  choke  him  with 
mingled  wonder  and  desire.  But  unless  dashing  through 
a  school  of  minnows  on  some  stiU  evening,  why  these 
giants  thus  disport  themselves  has  eluded  observation. 
It  seems  certain  that  they  then  take  no  food,  and  that  its 
pursuit  cannot  be  the  object  they  have  in  view.  At  such 
times,  large  flies  and  small  flies,  as  well  as  every  other 
wile  known  to  the  fisherman  (except  a  shot-gun),  has 


FLY-FI8HING  IN  THE  RANOELY  REGION.       89 

been  tried,  and  tried  in  vain.  Many  regard  it  as  an  un- 
lucky omen,  and  such  has  been  my  own  experience. 
The  most  careful  observation  has  suggested  but  one  pos- 
sible explanation — that  it  is  done  to  aggravate  the  an- 
gler.    If  so,  it  is  phenomenally  successful  in  result. 

Assuming  it  to  be  true  that  these  large  trout  are  not 
surface  feeders,  it  might  be  supposed  that  those  com- 
binations of  form  and  color  which  were  most  successful 
in  taking  them,  would  bear  Httle  or  no  resemblance  to 
the  local  insects  ;  and  such  is  the  fact. 

As  in  most  other  locahties,  a  half-dozen  varieties  are 
sufficient.  But  these  should  be  tied  on  large  hooks  ; 
those  shown  in  the  illustrations  of  "  Lake  Flies  "  in  this 
book  being  none  too  large — indeed,  hooks  even  as  large 
as  numbers  1,  2,  and  5  of  the  first  plate  of  "  Salmon 
Flies  "  are  at  times  not  at  all  amiss. 

The  most  taking  flies  are  as  follows : 

Before  all  others  in  my  esteem  ranks  the  "Parma- 
cheene  Belle." 

We  generally  cease  fishing  in  the  middle  of  the  day. 
After  dinner  the  fly-box  is  apt  to  appear,  and  the  word 
to  be,  "  Well,  John,  what  shall  we  tease  them  with  this 
afternoon  ?  "  Thus,  some  seven  years  ago,  this  fly  was 
born.  Of  a  very  large  family,  it,  on  the  grand  general 
principle  of  the  survival  of  the  fittest,  alone  outlived  its 
youth. 

That  the  large  trout  looked  upon  the  artificial  fly  not 
as  an  insect,  but  as  some  form  of  live  bait,  we  agreed 
was  probably  the  fact.    Upon  this  theory,  that  combina- 


90  FISHING  WITH  THE  FLY, 

tion  should  be  most  successful  which  most  closely  re- 
produced the  colors  of  some  favorite  trout-food.  Why, 
I  cannot  now  recollect,  but  the  belly-fin  of  the  trout  it- 
self was  selected  as  the  type. 

It  would  seem  also  to  follow  that  some  combination 
was  possible,  which,  if  sufficiently  conspicuous  to  be 
readily  seen  under  all  circumstances,  would  be  all-suffi- 
cient in  itself,  and  preclude  the  necessity  of  any  change. 
So  far,  nothing  has  occurred  to  lead  me  to  doubt  that  the 
"Parmacheene  Belle "  complies  with  these  conditions, 
and  has  these  merits. 

Place  all  the  other  known  flies  on  the  one  hand,  and 
that  single  fly  on  the  other.  Then  force  me  to  elect  be- 
tween them  and  to  abide  by  the  choice,  and  I  should 
take  the  "  Parmacheene  Belle  "  every  time  for  fishing  in 
those  waters.  In  sunshine  and  in  rain,  at  high  noon  and 
in  the  gloaming,  I  have  tried  it  under  all  circumstances 
and  conditions  for  years,  and  every  season  it  has  gained 
in  my  esteem. 

This  fly  somewhat  resembles  the  "No  Name,"  figured 
as  No.  15  of  "  Lake  Flies  "  in  this  book.  As  I  tie  it,  the 
tail  is  two  strands  of  white  and  two  of  scarlet ;  the  body 
of  yellow  mohair,  with  silver  tinsel  ;  the  hackle  double  ; 
first  white,  with  a  scarlet  hackle  wound  over  this — cap- 
ping the  former,  so  to  speak  ;  the  wing  white,  striped 
with  scarlet.  By  scarlet,  the  color  of  the  red  ibis  is  to 
be  understood. 

Next  in  value,  and  of  equal  merit  one  with  the  other, 
come  the   "  Montreal,"  numbered  12  of  "  Lake  Flies," 


FLY-FISHING  IN  THE  RANGELY  REGION.       91 

and  the  "Silver  Doctor,"  numbered  4  of  ''Salmon 
Flies."  The  "Silver  Doctor,"  numbered  1  of  "Lake 
Flies,"  in  vrhich  brown  is  the  predominant  color  of  the 
wing,  is  there  inferior  to  the  other. 

The  "  Grizzly  King,"  23  of  "  Bass-Flies,"  and  the 
"YeUow  Professor,"  No.  11  of  "Lake  FHes,"  are  both 
also  very  taking  ;  but  they  are  improved  if  the  wing  is 
made  of  two  separate  mallard  feathers,  set  with  the  con- 
cave side  of  each  feather  outward.  The  wing  then  opens 
and  shuts  when  the  fly  is  drawn  through  the  water — a 
performance  which  seems  amazingly  to  tickle  the  fancy 
of  large  trout. 

The  "  Brown  Hackle "  is  here,  as  elsewhere,  a  good 
fly.     It  should  be  plump  in  body  and  heavily  hackled. 

All  these  flies  should  have  the  former  characteristic. 

The  next  question  is,  how  should  the  fly  be  managed. 
"  I  tell  the  tale  as  'twas  told  to  me." 

During  the  first  of  a  companionship — one  of  the  pleas- 
antest  of  my  life — I  was  fishing  under  the  tutelage  of 
that  prince  of  guides,  my  esteemed  friend  John  S.  Dan- 
forth — a  man,  though  unexcelled  as  a  hunter,  trapper, 
woodsman,  and  angler,  still  not  unknown  in  the  literary 
world. 

I  then  knew  I  had  much  to  learn  of  fly-fishing  and  the 
habits  of  trout,  as  I  have  still.  In  pursuit  of  knowledge 
I  asked,  "  John,  who  catches  the  most  big  fish  of  all 
those  who  visit  these  waters  ?  "    He  replied  that  a  Mr. 

S ,  of  Boston,  was  the  happy  man,   and  explained 

and  illustrated  his  system,  rod  in  hand. 


92  FISHING  WITH  THE  FLY. 

But  a  single  large  fly  was  used.  It  was  cast,  neither 
line  nor  leader  having  a  suspicion  of  a  kink,  allowed  to 
rest  where  it  fell  until  it  had  sunk  a  foot  or  so  below 
the  surface,  then  slowly  moved  about  three  feet,  another 
pause  of  five  or  six  seconds  followed,  then  the  fly  was 
slowly  drawn  to  within  the  proper  distance,  and  at  last, 
smoothly  and  quietly  taken  off  the  water,  preparatory  to 
another  cast.  A  marked  change  in  the  size  of  the  fish 
taken  attended  the  adoption  of  this  method. 

I  have  never  known  or  heard  of  a  trout  of  over  three 
and  one-half  pounds  being  taken  in  those  waters  upon  a 
fly  moving  on  the  surface.  It  may  happen,  but  it  is 
surely  rare.  I  have  not  unfrequently  known  large  trout 
to  take  the  fly  of  an  angler  who  habitually  so  fished,  but 
upon  investigation  it  has,  without  exception,  appeared 
that  the  rise  occurred  when  the  fisherman  was  discour- 
aged, or  attending  to  something  beside  his  flies,  and,  at 
that  moment  they  were  idly  sinking  beneath  the  surface. 

I  have  talked  with  many  Rangely  guides  on  this  sub- 
ject, and  I  have  yet  to  hear  one  of  them  advocate  any 
other  method  of  handling  the  fly. 

One  fly  is  better  than  a  larger  number,  since  these 
large  fish  are  difficult  to  control  when  first  fastened. 
They  then  naturally  make  for  cover,  and  a  second  fly  in- 
creases the  danger  of  a  foul.  Sometimes,  it  is  true,  a 
small  fish  on  the  drop-fly  will  tow  the  stretcher  through 
the  water,  and  thus  entice  a  large  one,  when  every  other 
means  has  been  tried  in  vain.  Still,  take  it  all  in  all,  a 
single  fly  will  prove  the  most  profitable. 


FLY-FISHING  m  THE  BANOELY  REGION.       93 

In  this  fishing  more  than  any  other,  a  straight  line 
and  leader  is  essential.  The  fish  will  not  hook  them- 
selves. The  eye,  and  the  eye  alone,  tells  when  to  strike. 
The  slightest  disturbance  of  the  water  where  the  fly  is, 
or  where  it  is  supposed  to  be,  must  be  followed  by  a 
demonstration  on  the  part  of  the  angler  without  the  loss 
of  a  fraction  of  a  second.  Then  no  "  turn  of  the  wrist " 
will  serve  the  purpose.  While  with  small  fish,  this  is 
the  proper  and  artistic  thing,  with  the  large  ones  there, 
it  is  a  delusion.  You  must  "sock  it  to  them,"  but  al- 
ways with  a  free  reel  that  undue  vigor  may  be  harmless. 
Therefore,  to  use  a  fly  which  can  readily  be  seen  is  ad- 
vantageous, a  merit  which  that  first-named  possesses 
above  every  other.  The  first  pause,  or  the  first  of  the 
succeeding  movement  of  the  fly,  is  the  critical  time.  Not 
unfrequently  I  have  then  seen  large  trout  slowly  swim 
up  to  the  fly,  and  take  it  in.  The  only  indication  that 
he  had  it  would  be  its  eclipse.  As  far  as  feeling  him 
was  concerned,  he  might  as  well  have  been  in  the  next 
county.  Then  a  delay  of  over  a  single  wink's  duration 
is  fatal ;  for  before  "you  can  say"  not  "Jack  Robinson," 
but  even  "Jack,"  the  fly  will  have  been  ejected;  and 
though  you  chann  thereafter  never  so  wisely,  as  far  as 
that  fish  is  concerned  you  will  labor  in  vain.  One  taste 
of  that  to  him  he  thinks  far  better  than  a  feast. 

During  the  first  week,  of  June,  1883,  I  divided  my 

fishing  between   the   Magalloway  River,  above   Parma- 

cheene  Lake,  in  Maine,  and  the  Lake  itself.    In  a  loveHer 

sheet  of  water  than  the  latter  never  did  angler  wet  a 

\ 


94  FmniNO  WITH  THE  FLT. 

line.  There  in  the  extreme  northwestern  comer  of 
Maine  it  nestles  in  the  bosom  of  the  wilderness,  a  per- 
fect gem  in  its  matchless  setting  of  forest-clad  hills. 
Not  even  a  ripple  from  the  storm  of  hf e  breaks  on  its 
pebbly  shores,  or  mars  the  perfect  reflection  of  the 
heaven  above  in  its  mirror-like  surface.  As  the  mariner 
struggling  in  the  grasp  of  winter's  icy  blast,  his  very  life 
trembling  in  the  balance,  looks  to  the  distant  port ;  as 
the  pious  Mussulman,  lost  in  the  immensity  of  the  des- 
ert, turns  toward  Mecca  as  the  last  hope  of  his  fainting 
soul,  so  from  the  worry  and  turmoil  of  city  Hfe  turns 
my  heart  to  thee,  beloved  Lake  ! 

Seldom  has  it  been  my  good  fortune  to  have  such  fishing, 
for  the  trout  were  not  only  superabundant,  but  of  good 
size  and  appetite,  and  with  every  muscle  beneath  their 
iridescent  skins  braced  with  the  vigor  of  perfect  health. 

No  true  angler  kiUs  fish  to  waste,  and  such  John  and 
I  aspire  to  be.  So  it  has  been  our  practice  for  years, 
where  circumstances  permit,  to  make  a  small  pond  in- 
to which  we  place  all  the  sizeable  fish  we  take.  In  the 
quiet  noonday  hour  on  its  margin  we  build  our  little 
fire  and  eat  our  frugal  limch,  and  then  while  away  an 
hour  or  two  in  perfect  idleness  and  content,  admiring 
the  matchless  beauty  of  our  captives  in  their  crystal 
prison.  When,  brother  Angler,  it  is  within  your  power, 
try  this ;  and  if  the  love  of  nature  inspires  you,  as  it 
must  if  you  are  worthy  the  name,  the  hours  passed  upon 
the  margin  of  your  little  preserve  wiU  be  a  bright  spot 
in  your  memory  for  many  a  year. 


FLT-FISHING  IN  THE  BANG  ELY  REGION      95 

We  had  stocked  our  pool  and  returned  its  denizens  to 
liberty  many  times,  when  we  happened  to  remember  a 
pond  fed  by  springs  and  discharging  by  exfiltration, 
where  minnows  were  abimdant,  but  which  contained  no 
trout.  We  determined  to  colonize  it.  Water  transpor- 
tation was  available  for  the  greater  part  of  the  distance, 
but  the  last  hundred  yards  was  land  carriage.  Over  this 
John  took  the  trout  in  a  large  tin  pail,  his  broad  felt  hat 
floating  on  the  surface  of  the  water  it  contained,  to  keep 
them  in  ;  for  had  their  veins  circulated  quicksilver  they 
could  not  have  been  more  lively.  These  fish  ran  from 
two  and  a  half  to  one  and  a  quarter  pounds  ;  and,  as  I 
recollect,  there  were  fifty  of  them.  Therefore  consider- 
able time  was  consumed  in  the  portage.  When  the  trout 
were  placed  in  their  new  home,  they  were  so  exhausted 
by  their  struggles,  as  to  be  quite  content  merely  to  rest 
and  breathe.  I  watched  them  lying  motionless  at  my 
feet,  in  about  a  foot  of  water.  Occasionally  a  leaf  would 
drift  into  the  mouth  of  some  one  of  them,  borne  by  the 
current  of  water  circulating  through  its  gills.  It  seemed 
an  instant  before  the  presence  of  the  intruding  mat- 
ter was  realized,  then  it  was  shot  out  with  sufficient 
force  to  project  it  some  inches  through  the  water. 
I  use  the  word  shot  out  advisedly,  for  no  other  con- 
veys a  just  idea  of  the  suddenness  of  the  operation.  I 
then  thought  how  very,  very  brief  is  the  time  in  which 
the  angler  must  strike  to  a  rise,  if  he  hopes  to  save  his 
fish. 

June,  and  the  last  twenty  days  of  September  are  the 


96  FISHINO  WITH  THE  FLY. 

best  parts  of  the  season,  and  only  then  can  it  be  hoped 
to  take  large  trout  with  the  fly. 

Little  fly-fishing  is  done  on  the  Kangely  Lakes  in  June, 
trolling  being  then  the  customary  method  by  which  the 
large  fish  are  taken.  A  six-inch  chub  on  a  single  hook 
makes  up  the  lure,  triple  hooks  or  gangs  being  prohibited 
by  a  rigidly  enforced  law.  My  own  experience  there  in 
that  month  is  limited  to  three  days  in  1883.  I  was  then 
fairly  successful  in  numbers  but  failed  in  size,  nothing 
over  two  and  a  half  pounds  being  taken.  The  common 
report  is  that  the  large  trout  will  not  then  take  the  fly  ; 
but  some  of  the  guides  with  whom  I  conversed  thought 
the  prevalence  of  this  opinion  was  due  to  the  fact  that  so 
little  fly-fishing  was  then  practised — in  other  words,  that 
its  merits  had  never  been  fairly  tested  at  that  season.  If 
a  fly  is  properly  presented  to  a  large  trout,  I  cannot  be- 
lieve that  it  would  be  more  likely  to  be  ignored  then  than 
in  September,  since  a  few  days  before  the  large  ti'out  in 
neighboring  waters  took  it  fully  as  well,  if  not  better, 
than  in  the  month  last  named.  But  it  may  be  they 
do  not  bunch  in  June  as  they  do  in  September,  or  per- 
haps not  in  the  same  places,  though  even  this  was  not 
the  case  in  the  waters  before  referred  to.  Therefore, 
though  it  is  believed  the  chance  of  taking  large  trout  in 
the  Kangely  Lakes  is  as  good  in  the  one  month  as  in  the 
other,  still  this  opinion  has  not  been  sufficiently  subjected 
to  the  crucial  test  of  actual  trial,  to  warrant  its  accept- 
ance as  an  established  fact. 

By  trolling  more  ground  is  covered,  and,  of  course. 


FLY-FISHING  IN  THE  RANOELY  REGION.       97 

with  increased  chance  of  success.  But  to  my  mind,  tak- 
ing a  trout  other  than  with  the  fly  is  akin  to  sacrilege, 
and  unworthy  an  angler.  Though  forced  to  admit  it 
would  be  difficult  to  defend  this  opinion — perhaps  prej- 
udice would  more  accurately  describe  it — on  strictly 
logical  grounds,  it  remains  all  the  same  a  fixed  canon  of 
my  angling  morality. 

A  guide  is  requisite  to  one  unfamiliar  with  these  waters- 
As  far  as  surface  indications  are  concerned,  to  a  stranger 
one  place  looks  about  as  promising  as  another  ;  and  the 
water  area  is  so  great,  that  only  by  the  utmost  good  fort- 
une could  the  best  places  be  found.  These  it  is  the 
guide's  business  to  know  thoroughly,  as  well  as  which  of 
them  promises  most  under  the  then  conditions  of  time 
and  weather.  The  Kangely  guides  are,  as  a  general  rule, 
a  very  superior  class  of  men — quiet,  gentlemanly,  oblig- 
ing, and  thoroughly  conscientious  in  their  endeavor  to 
give  their  employers  the  best  possible  sport.  Not  the 
slightest  apprehension  need  be  felt  on  the  latter  score. 
The  stranger  is  strongly  recommended  to  place  himself 
absolutely  in  his  guide's  hands,  and  to  tell  him  in  lan- 
guage and  in  a  manner,  the  sincerity  of  which  cannot  be 
doubted,  that  you  propose  to  fish  where,  and  in  such  man- 
ner, and  with  such  flies  as  he  may  recommend  ;  and  that 
if  he  thinks  any  change  in  the  manner  of  fishing  would 
improve  the  chances  of  success,  that  he  is  to  mention  it 
at  once.  Otherwise,  even  though  you  fasten  your  fly  to 
the  butt  of  your  rod  and  whale  the  water  with  that,  he 
will  be  silent,  and  to  all  outside  appearance  will  act  as 


98  FISHINO  WITH  THE  FLY. 

thougli  tliat  was  the  usual  and  only  proper  way  to  fish 
with  the  fly.  Anxious  as  they  all  are  to  please  their  em- 
ployer, experience  has  taught  them  that  it  is  unadvisable 
to  make  any  comment  whatever  which  may  be'  construed 
into  disparagement  of  his  angling  skill.  Wisdom  is  the 
child  of  experience,  and  no  matter  how  great  that  of  the 
angler  may  have  been  elsewhere,  there  at  least  his  guide 
can  instruct  him  to  advantage  ;  for  he  has  seen  almost 
every  conceivable  method  of  fly-fishing,  and  has  heard 
his  comrades  describe  the  very  few  which  have  not  come 
under  his  personal  observation.  The  merits  and  demerits 
of  each  have  been  appraised  in  his  mind  by  the  infallible 
touchstone  of  actual  trial,  and  if  his  advice  can  be  had, 
it  cannot  but  prove  valuable  to  any  one. 

Though  these  recommendations  are  strictly  followed, 
and  though  the  guide  exerts  himself  to  the  utmost,  still 
as  long  as  trout  are  capricious,  so  long  v^dll  success, 
though  probable,  be  uncertain. 

Eemember  that  only  exceptional  luck  is  chronicled  in 
fishing,  and  that  as  to  failure  therein  a  discreet  silence 
is  ever  in  order. 

From  some  printed  accounts  of  that  region,  it  might 
be  inferred  that  an  eight  pounder  occupied  every  super- 
ficial yard  of  those  waters,  clamoring  to  be  caught.  This 
is  not  strictly  true.  Indeed,  if  you  cast  seven  consecu- 
tive days  from  morning  till  night,  with  perhaps  a  couple 
of  hours  rest  in  the  middle  of  each  day,  and  during  that 
time  get  one  single  rise  from  a  fish  of  seven  pounds  or 
over,  your  luck  will  then  be  fully  up  to  the  average. 


FLY-FISHING  IN  THE  BANOBLT  REGION.      99 

Fish  you  will  take  with  the  fly  and  plenty  of  them,  but 
of  the  large  ones,  but  few  at  best. 

But  it  is  worth  a  year  of  common  fishing  to  fasten  one 
long,  slim,  limber  five  pounder.  For  from  a  half  to 
three  quarters  of  an  hour  or  so,  he  will  make  music 
which  to  the  anglers'  ear  has  a  charm,  compared  to 
which  the  sweetest  strains  of  Patti  or  Nilsson  are  but 
discordant  sounds. 

This  may  be  your  good  fortune  at  the  first  cast, — may 
be,  though  probably  it  will  not.  But  at  all  events,  re- 
peat to  yourself  the  wise  saying  of  the  Philosopher  of 
the  Magalloway,  "  If  you  want  to  catch  any  fish,  you 
must  keep  your  line  wet,"  and  hammer  away  at  them. 
In  time,  if  you  follow  the  method  herein  before  set 
forth,  your  turn  will  surely  come  ;  and  then  you  wiU 
forget  all  the  weary  waiting  that  has  gone  before,  and 
wiU  rest  that  night  a  happy  man,  even  though  you  have 
the  toothache. 


"  There  is  no  genuine  enjoyment  in  the  easy  achievement  of 
any  purpose  ;  there  is  no  bread  so  sweet  as  the  hard-earned  loaf 
of  the  man  who  works  for  it.  The  rule  holds  good  in  the  school 
of  the  sportsman." — **  Bourgeois." 

"  Happily,  fishermen,  like  hunters,  do  not  always  agree,  nor  in 
many  of  the  details  of  the  fly-fishing  art  do  they  think  and  act 
alike."— i>.  W.  Gross. 

"To  the  angler  the  value  of  even  a  moderate  acquaintance  with 
ichthyology  cannot  be  exaggerated.  Not  only  is  it  of  the  greatest 
practical  use,  by  the  insight  which  it  gives  him  into  the  habits, 
food,  spawning-seasons,  etc, ,  of  the  several  fish — and  consequently 
into  the  best  means  of  taking  them — but  it  also  doubles  the  pleas- 
ure of  success." — H.  Cholmondeley  Pennell. 

"The  moment  the  trout  seizes  the  artificial  fly  it  is  as  far  in 
his  mouth  or  throat  as  it  will  ever  be,  therefore  it  is  sound  to  say 
you  cannot  "strike"  too  quick,  after  you  have  seen  or  felt  the 
trout."— D.   W.  Gross. 

"  When  the  fly  is  thrown  on  the  stream  some  little  resemblance 
of  life  must  be  attempted  to  be  given  to  it. " — Alfred  Ilonalds. 

"It  is  astonishing  how  many  there  are  calling  themselves 
sportsmen,  who  are  content  to  remain  all  their  lives  simply 
killers  of  fish — of  the  habits,  idiosyncrasies,  and  even  of  the  very 
names  of  which  they  are  too  often  ignorant. — H.  Ghotmonddey 
PenneU. 

"The  materials  for  an  artificial  fly  should  be  compared  and 
matched  with  the  natural  one,  by  the  eye  and  judgment  of  the 
fly-fisher." — MichaeiL  Theakston. 

"There  is  nothing  like  the  thrill  of  expectation  over  the  first 
cast  in  unfamiliar  waters.  Fishing  is  like  gambling,  in  that  fail- 
ure only  excites  hope  of  a  fortunate  throw  next  time." — Glmrlea 
Dudley  Warmer. 


I 


^    lii^KE      FL.IE  S. 


Made  by  C  F.ORVIS,  Manchester. Vt 


CO  PYR I G  H  TE  D 


" Let  it  be  seen  that  a  love  of  the  'gentle  art'openeth  first 
the  heart,  then  the  fly-book,  and  soon  the  stores  of  experience  and 
knowledge  garnered  up  through  long  years,  wheresoever  we  meet 
a  'Brother  of  the  Angle';  and  that  to  us  'angling  is  an  em- 
ployment of  our  idle  time,  which  is  not  then  idly  spent ' ;  that 
therein  we  find  '  a  rest  to  the  mind,  a  cheerer  of  the  spirits,  a  di- 
verter  of  sadness,  a  calmer  of  unquiet  thoughts,  a  moderator  of 
the  passions,  a  procurer  of  contentedness,  and  that  it  begets  habits 
of  peace  and  patience  in  chose  that  possess  and  practice  it.' " — 
Thaddeus  Norris. 

*'  Fly-fishing  holds  the  same  relation  to  bait-fishing  that  poetry 
does  to  prose.  Not  only  the  fly,  but  every  implement  of  the  fly- 
fisher's  outfit  is  a  materialized  poem." — James  A.Henshall,  M.D. 

i3.  Bee.  14.  Tomah  Jo. 

15.  "  No  Name."  16.  Blue  Bottle. 

17.  Grasshopper.  18.  Canada. 

"  Between  the  tyro  and  the  proficient  grayling  fisher  there  ex- 
ists a  wider  gulf  than  is  the  case  with  the  experienced  and  inex- 
perienced in  any  other  branch  in  the  whole  art  of  fishing.  Prac- 
tical skill  and  general  artistic  bearing  are  more  fully  exemplified 
in  fishing  for  grayling,  than  for  trout  and  salmon,  whilst  upon 
the  same  ground  the  unskilled  efforts  of  the  bungler  stand  at  a 
yet  more  glaring  contrast. " — David  Foster. 

"  Hooking  a  large  grayling,  I  had  good  evidences  of  his  plucky 
qualities  ;  the  pliant  rod  bent  as  he  struggled  against  the  line, 
curling  his  body  around  columns  of  water  that  failed  to  sustain 
his  grasp,  and  setting  his  great  dorsal  fin  like  an  oar  backing 
water,  while  we  cautiously  worked  him  in,  his  tender  mouth  re- 
quiring rather  more  careful  handling  than  would  be  necessary  for 
a  trout  ;  making  a  spurt  up  stream,  he  requires  a  yielding  line, 
but  after  a  time  he  submits  to  be  brought  in,  rallying  for  a  dart 
under  the  boat,  or  beneath  a  log,  as  an  attempt  is  made  to  place 
the  landing  net  under  him." — Professor  Milner. 


*'  Do  not  despair.  There  was — alas  !  that  I  must  say  there  was 
— an  illustrious  philosopher,  who  was  nearly  of  the  age  of  fifty 
before  he  made  angling  a  pursuit,  yet  he  became  a  distinguished 
fly-fisher." — Sir  Humphry  Da'oy, 

"  Fly-fishing  for  grayling  and  trout  are  not  altogether  identi- 
cal. Both  are  frequently  found  in  the  same  water,  and  are  to  be 
taken  with  -the  same  cast  of  flies.  Finer  tackle,  as  a  rule,  is  re- 
quired in  the  case  of  the  former,  as  also  smaller  and  brighter  flies." 
— David  Foster. 

"  The  grayling  generally  springs  entirely  out  of  the  water  when 
first  struck  by  the  hook,  and  tugs  strongly  at  the  line,  requiring 
as  much  dexterity  to  land  it  safely  as  it  would  to  secure  a  trout 
of  six  times  the  size." — Dr.  Richardson. 

"  Grayling  will  often  take  the  fly  under  water,  rising  so  quietly 
that  you  will  scarcely  see  any  rise  or  break  of  the  water  at  all.  It 
is  desirable,  therefore,  to  watch  the  line  narrowly,  and  to  strike 
whenever  you  think  it  stops  or  checks,  and  you  will  now  and  then 
be  surprised,  although  there  is  no  break  in  the  water,  to  find  a 
good  grayling  on  the  hook.  For,  as  is  often  the  case  with  trout, 
the  big  ones  are  very  quiet  risers." — Francis  Francis. 

"To  be  a  perfect  fisherman  you  require  more  excellencies  than 
are  usually  to  be  found  in  such  a  small  space  as  is  allotted  to  a 
man's  carcass." — Parker  Oilmore. 

"The  trout  has,  so  to  speak,  a  Herculean  cast  of  beauty;  the 
grayling  rather  that  of  an  Apollo — light,  delicate,  and  gracefully 
symmetrical." — H.  Cholmondely-Pennell. 

"The  ways  of  the  grayling  differ  according  to  his  locality." — 
E.  Sterling,  M.D. 

"The  angler  who  cares  nothing  for  his  score,  is  as  little  a  true 
angler  as  one  who  cares  only  for  his  score." — Frank.  S.  Pinckney. 


THE  GEAYLIlSra 

BY 
FRED  MATHER. 


The  very  name  of  my  beloved  fish  calls  up  a  host  of 
recollections  that  form  themselves  into  a  picture  that, 
above  all  others,  is  the  most  cheerful  one  adorning 
memory's  wall.  We  old  fellows  live  largely  in  the  past, 
and  can  afford  to  let  younger  men  revel  in  the  future  ; 
and  in  my  own  case,  I  can  say  that,  having  filled 
Shakespeare's  apothegm  of  *'one  man  in  his  time 
plays  many  parts,"  there  are  often  retrospects  of  life  as 
a  boyish  angler,  an  older  hunter,  trapper,  and  general 
vagabond  on  the  frontiers ;  a  soldier ;  and  a  later  return 
to  a  first  love.  Of  these  glances  over  the  shoulder  of 
time,  a  few  trips  to  Northern  Michigan  and  its  grayling 
streams  mark  the  journey  of  life  with  a  white  stone. 

When  Prof.  Cope  announced,  in  1865,  that  he  had 
received  specimens  from  Michigan,  the  English  anglers 
in  America  were  incredulous,  and  there  was  some  spicy 
correspondence,  in  the  sportsmen's  papers  of  those  days, 
concerning  the  identity  of  the  fishes.  As  usual,  the 
scientist  discomfited  the  angler,  and  proved  his  position. 
The  fish  had  long  been  known  to  the  raftsmen  and  na- 
tives of  Michigan  by  local  names,  but  had  never  been 


104  FISHING  WITH  THE  FLY. 

identified  as  the  historic  grayling.  Some  eight  years 
after  the  discovery  of  Prof.  Cope  that  we  had  the  gray- 
ling in  American  waters,  Mr.  D.  H.  Fitzhugh,  Jr.,  sent 
some  of  them  to  Mr.  Charles  Hallock,  then  editor  of 
Forest  and  Stream,  and  they  were  shown  in  New  York 
'to  the  doubters,  who  even  then  were  not  convinced. 

Mr.  Fitzhugh  took  great  interest  in  the  new  fish, 
which,  as  a  lumberman  and  an  angler,  he  had  long  known 
as  a  '^Michigan  trout,"  but  had  never  recognized  as 
the  gentle  grayling,  and  he  has  since  done  more  than 
any  other  man  to  popularize  it  and  introduce  it  to 
anglers. 

He  invited  Mr.  Hallock,  Prof.  Milner,  and  myself  to 
come  up  and  fish  for  it,  and  we  each  extolled  its  attrac- 
tions in  the  press.  As  a  consequence,  the  fish  has  been 
nearly  exterminated  by  vandals  who  fish  for  count,  and 
the  waters  where  we  fished  at  first  are  nearly  barren. 

Of  all  game  fishes  the  grayling  is  my  favorite.  It  is 
gamy  but  not  savage  ;  one  does  not  feel  the  savage  in- 
stinct to  kill  that  the  black  bass  or  the  pike  raises  in 
him,  but  rather  a  feeling  of  love  for  a  vigorous  fighter 
for  its  life  who  is  handicapped  with  a  tender  mouth. 
To  me  the  fish  is  always  thought  of  as  the  '*  gentle 
grayling,"  and  the  *^  golden-eyed  grayling,"  although 
the  latter  epithet  is  not  always  a  correct  one,  owing  to 
the  changes  in  the  iris. 

In  fishing  for  grayling  it  is  well  to  use  a  medium- 
sized  fly  of  a  subdued  color  ;  a  yellow  body  and  a  brown 
wing  is  the  fly  that  should  be  used  if  only  one  is 


» 


THE  GRAYLING.  105 

recommended  ;  it  is  a  most  killing  combination.  Brown 
Hackles,  Eed  Ibis,  Professor,  Queen  of  the  Water,  and 
other  trout  flies  are  also  killing ;  but  the  first-men- 
tioned fly,  whose  name  I  do  not  know,  owing  to  a  de- 
fective memory  and  the  vagaries  of  fly  nomenclature, 
is  the  most  killing,  and  a  cast  into  the  upper  edge  of  a 
pool  below  a  rapid  is  usually  most  successful.* 

The  beauty  of  the  grayling  is  of  a  kind  that  is  better 
appreciated  after  some  acquaintance.  The  bright  col- 
ors of  its  ''  magnificent  dorsal,"  as  the  phrase  went  a 
few  years  ago,  are  not  its  chief  claim  to  admiration. 
Its  shapely  contour,  striped  ventrals,  iridescent  cau- 
dal, and  its  beatific  countenance  win  the  heart  of  the 
angler  and  make  him  love  the  grayling,  and  feel  that 
it  is  a  fish  to  respect  for  the  higher  qualities  expressed 
in  its  physiognomy,  and  not  one  that  it  is  merely  a  sat- 
isfaction to  kill  as  he  would  a  savage  pike.  True,  we 
kill  the  grayling,  but  we  do  it  in  a  different  spirit  from 
that  in  which  we  kill  some  other  thing.  It  was  not 
only  my  good  fortune  to  know  ''Uncle  Thad"  Norris, 
but  to  have  fished  with  him.-  The  dear  lovable  old 
man,  who  long  since  paid  his  fare  to  the  grim  ferry- 
man, once  said  :  ''  When  I  look  into  a  grayling's  eye  I 
am  sorry  I  killed  it ;  but  that  feeling  never  prevents 
me  from  making  another  cast  just  to  see  if  another 
will  rise." 

In  another  century  Norris  will  be  more  read  and  ap- 
preciated than  he  is  to-day.      Of  all  American  angling 

*  Oak-fly. 


106  FISHING  WITH  THE  FLY, 

writers  of  this  century  he  will  stand  foremost,  and 
yet  he  never  wrote  as  fully  as  he  intended  of  the 
fish  that  he  told  me  had  afforded  him  more  pleas- 
ure than  any  other.  He  had  not  revised  his  *^  Am- 
erican Angler's  Book"  for  some  time  before  his 
death,  and  so  his  remarks  on  Back's  grayling  must 
stand  as  he  wrote  them  before  the  era  of  the  Michigan 
grayling.  He  there  says  of  the  Arctic  grayling : 
"  The  grayling  being  a  fish  in  the  capture  of  which 
the  American  angler  cannot  participate,  we  give  no 
account  of  the  manner  of  angling  for  them,  but  re- 
fer the  reader  who  may  have  interest  or  curiosity  on 
that  score  to  English  authors."  He  intended  to  re- 
vise that  sentence  and  give  his  own  experience,  but  the 
Keaper  judged  him  ripe  for  the  harvest  before  he  did 
it.  In  my  opinion  he  was  one  of  those  who  should 
never  have  been  ripe  for  that  harvest,  and  his  loss  to 
our  angling  literature,  was  a  severe  one. 

That  the  grayling  will  take  bait,  truth  requires  the 
admission  ;  would  that  it  were  not  so.  I  would  prefer 
that  its  food  was  the  soaring  insect,  or  even  the  float- 
ing thistledown,  with  an  occasional  feather  from  an 
angel's  wing  dropped  in  the  moonlit  flood  ;  but  science 
has  laid  bare  its  interior  with  the  searching  scalpel,  and 
the  Caesarian  operation  has  brought  forth  the  lowly 
caddis-worm  and  other  larvae,  and  the  bait-fisher  has 
taken  advantage  of  the  knowledge  and  pandered  to  the 
baser  appetite  of  the  fish. 

That  the  grayling  does  not  eat  other  fish  is  proved 


I 


THE  ORA  YLma,  107 

by  its  small  mouth,  as  well  as  by  its  known  habits. 
It  is  not  a  leaper,  like  the  tront,  but  takes  the  fly 
from  the  surface  with  merely  an  exposure  of  a  por- 
tion of  its  head.  When  struck,  it  makes  a  vigorous 
rush,  and,  if  it  does  not  fight  as  long  as  the  trout  does, 
it  gives  much  resistance  at  the  last  moment  by  the  side- 
long movement  it  makes  when  being  reeled  in,  which 
is  due  to  the  size  and  curvature  of  its  dorsal  fin.  It 
inhabits  only  the  coldest  of  streams,  and  while  the 
grayling  of  Europe  is  found  in  the  trout  streams,  it  is 
not  to  be  found  there  in  Michigan. 

We  have  several  species  of  grayling  in  America. 
Two  of  these  only  are  accessible  to  anglers,  the  Michi- 
gan grayling,  Tliymallus  tricolor,  and  one  at  the  head 
waters  of  the  Yellowstone,  the  T,  Montanus,  The 
other  species  are  Arctic. 

The  Michigan  fish  is  reported  to  grow  to  nearly  two 
pounds  weight ;  I  never  saw  one  that  I  thought  would 
weigh  much  over  a  pound,  and  I  have  taken  them  in 
spawning  season  for  the  purpose  of  procuring  their 
eggs.  Whether  this  fish  will  bear  acclimatization  to 
other  waters,  I  cannot  say.  I  raised  a  few  until  a 
year  old  at  my  former  trout  farm  in  Western  New 
York,  and  when  I  left  them  I  opened  the  pond  and  let 
them  into  the  stream  below,  but  none  have  ever  been 
taken  there,  as  far  as  I  know.  It  seems  a  pity  to  allow 
this  elegant  fish  to  become  extinct,  as  it  will  in  a  few 
years  in  its  limited  habitat,  and  if  opportunity  offered 
I  would  again  try  to  domesticate  it. 


108  FISnmG  WITH  THE  FLY. 

The  trout- fisher  needs  no  special  directions  nor 
tackle  to  fish  for  grayling ;  he  may  cast  in  the  nsual 
manner,  only  remembering  that  the  fish  has  a  very- 
tender  month,  and  must  be  treated  with  this  fact  ever 
in  mind.  The  Michigan  grayling  streams  are  not 
suited  for  wading,  and,  therefore,  fishing  from  a  boat 
is  the  rule.  This  may  not  suit  some  anglers,  to  whom. 
I  can  only  say,  every  one  to  his  fancy,  but  no  wading 
for  me  ;  dry  feet  are  more  comfortable  than  wet  ones, 
and  boat-fishing  or  bank-fishing  are  more  suitable  to 
my  taste,  than  to  be  immersed  up  to  my  hips  in  cold 
water  for  half  a  day. 

I  have  killed,  I  believe,  every  game  fish  in  America 
east  of  the  Eocky  Mountains,  except  the  salmon,  for 
which  I  have  a  rod  in  readiness,  that  I  hope  to  use 
soon,  and  I  can  say  that  while  I  do  not  think  the 
grayling  the  superior  of  all  of  them  for  gameness,  yet 
there  is  something  of  romance  in  the  remembrance  of 
the  grayling,  a  kind  of  sentimental  retrospect,  that 
endears  the  fish  to  me  above  all  others.  Whether  it 
was  owing  to  the  pine  woods  and  the  genial  compan- 
ionship, I  do  not  care  to  consider  ;  but  each  year  there 
comes  a  longing  to  repeat  the  pleasant  experiences  of 
the  Au  Sable  and  its  delicate  grayling. 


TROUT     FI.iES. 


Made  by  C.F.ORYIS.  Manchester. Vt 


COPYRie  H  TED. 


"  The  trout-fly  does  not  resemble  any  known  species  of  insect. 
It  is  a  *  conventionalized  '  creation,  as  we  say  of  ornamentation. 
The  theory  is,  that,  fly-fishing  being  a  high  art,  the  fly  must  not 
be  a  tame  imitation  of  nature,  but  an  artistic  suggestion  of  it.  It 
requires  an  artist  to  construct  one  ;  and  not  every  bungler  can 
take  a  bit  of  red  flannel,  a  peacock's  feather,  a  flash  of  tinsel 
thread,  a  cock's  plume,  a  section  of  a  hen's  wing,  and  fabricate  a 
tiny  object  that  will  not  look  like  any  fly,  but  still  will  suggest 
the  universal  conventional  fly." — Cliarles  Dudley  Warner. 

*'  When  you  fish  with  a  flie,  if  it  be  possible,  let  no  part  of  your 
line  touch  the  water,  but  your  flie  only." — Izaak  Walton, 

I.  Coachman.  2.  Leadwing  Coach-    3.  Royal  Coach- 
man, man. 

4.  Coachman  red  5.  Gilt  Coachman.  6.  Cowdung. 

tip. 

7.  Fern.  8.  Blue  Jay.  9.  Abbey. 

10.  Red  Ant.  11.  Black  Ant.  12.  Seth  Green. 

13.  Professor.  14.  Blue  Professor.  15.  Dark  Stone. 


"  A  combination  of  English  Jay  is  one  of  the  most  effective 
flies  in  the  world,  as  it  can  be  put  into  as  gay  a  fly  as  you  please, 
and  also  into  as  plain  a  one  as  you  like." — Capt.  Peel  ("  Dmks  "). 

"When  I  think  of  the  great  secrets  of  Nature  locked  up  from 
our  knowledge  (yet  under  our  eyes  at  every  turn  of  your  daily 
duty),  and  imagine  what  a  mine  of  intellectual  wealth  remains  to 
be  opened  out  by  quickness  of  sight,  clearness  of  intellect,  and 
the  pickaxe  of  hard  work,  a  great  panorama  opens  before  me. 
How  ignorant — how  terribly  ignorant — are  wo  of  God's  great  laws 
as  applied  to  the  creatures  that  live  in  the  element  in  which  we 
are  forbidden  to  exist!" — Frank  Buckland. 

"  The  ancient  belief  in  the  stoppage  of  sport  during  a  thunder- 
storm is  not  strictly  true."— Dacirf  Foster, 


**  A  fish  will  hooh  himself  only  in  cases  where  the  fly  first 
touches  the  water  at  the  end  of  a  straight  line,  or  when  the  line 
is  being  withdrawn  smartly  for  a  new  cast.  In  all  other  cases 
the  skill  of  the  angler  must  be  employed." — Charles  Hallock. 

"  We  had  determined  on  a  feast,  and  trout  were  to  be  its  dain- 
tiest dainty.  We  waited  until  the  confusing  pepper  of  a  shower 
had  passed  away  and  left  the  water  calm.  We  tossed  to  the  fish 
humbugs  of  wool,  silk  and  feathers,  gauds  such  as  captivate  the 
greedy  or  the  guileless.  The  trout,  on  the  lookout  for  novelty, 
dashed  up  and  swallowed  disappointing  juiceless  morsels,  and 
with  them  swallowed  hooks.  Then,  0  Walton  I  0  Davy  I  0 
Scropel  ye  fishers  hard  by  taverns!  luxury  was  ours  of  which  ye 
know  nothing.  Under  the  noble  yellow  birch  we  cooked  our  own 
fish.  We  used  our  scanty  kitchen -battery  with  skill.  We  cooked 
with  the  high  art  of  simplicity.  Where  Nature  has  done  her  best, 
only  fools  rush  in  to  improve.  On  the  salmonids,  fresh  and  salt, 
she  has  lavished  her  creative  refinements.  Cookery  should  only 
ripen  and  develop. " —  Theodore  Winthrop. 

"As  a^  general  thing,  it  is  a  waste  of  time  to  be  forever  changing 
your  flies.  If  the  trout  are  not  rising,  it  is  entirely  useless  to  fling 
an  assortment  of  flies  at  them." — T.  S.  Up  de  Grajf,  M.D, 

"  In  taking  the  fly,  I  award  the  palm  to  the  trout,  as  he  usually 
throws  himself  out  of  the  water  to  do  so.  The  salmon  does  not, 
he  scarcely  more  than  shows  himself ;  but  after  being  hooked  the 
sport  commences,  and  it  is  all  activity  to  the  death,  rarely  any 
sulking." — Charles  W,  Stevens. 

*' '  That  old  story  about  the  little  boy  with  the  pin-hook,  who 
ketched  all  the  fish,  while  the  gentleman  with  the  modern  im- 
provements, who  stood  alongside  of  him,  kep'  throwin'  out  his 
beautiful  flies  and  never  got  nothin',  is  a  pure  lie.'" — Frank  B. 
Stockton. 


A  TROUTING  TRIP  TO  ST.  IGNACE  ISLAND. 

BY 
W.  THOMSON 

TowAKDS  the  end  of  August,  1877,  I  had  become 
pretty  well  fagged  out  with  office  work  and  felt  that  I 
must  have  a  week  or  two  of  out-door  recreation  or 
sport  of  some  kind,  so  I  naturally  decided  upon  a  trout- 
fishing  expedition  ;  and  I  selected,  as  the  scene,  the 
island  of  St.  Ignace,  in  Lake  Superior,  of  which  I  had 
heard  most  excellent  accounts  in  yegard  to  fish  prod- 
ucts. I  had,  it  is  true,  caught  a  great  many  brook 
trout  throughout  the  summer,  in  small  streams  close  at 
hand ;  but  these  were  mostly  fish  of  inferior  size,  few 
indeed  reaching  one  pound  in  weight ;  while  I  was  as- 
sured by  an  ancient  fisherman  of  repute,  that  at  the 
Island,  the  real  Salmo  fontinalis  often  attained  to  four, 
five,  and  even  seven  pounds. 

This  was  the  kind  of  ground  I  had  been,  for  many 
years,  anxious  to  find,  and  I  made  up  my  mind  to  try  it 
at  all  events. 

The  first  thing  to  do  was  to  secure  two  suitable  com- 
panions, and  a  man  or  boy  of  all  work.  The  former  I 
quickly  enlisted  in  the  persons  of  a  genial  M.D.  and  an 
overworked  limb  of  the  law.     The  latter  opportunely 


112  FISHING  WITH  THE  FLY, 

turned  up  in  the  shape  of  "Jim,"  a  colored  youth  of 
sixteen,  as  black  as  the  ten  of  spades,  but  no  less  cele- 
brated for  his  culinary  skill  than  for  his  impish  tricks 
and  imperturbable  good  humor  and  honesty.  To  ban- 
ish formality  once  for  all,  and  put  things  upon  an  easy 
and  familiar  footing  at  the  start,  I  christened  the  M.D. 
*^  Squills  "  and  the  lawyer  "  Bluffy,"  out  of  compliment 
to  his  usual  style  of  treating  witnesses  in  court.  In 
deference  to  my  advanced  age  and  general  good  loohs, 
the  boys  called  me  "  Governor,"  I  being  then  about 
fifty-three  and  neither  of  them  thirty.  Our  supplies, 
consisting  of  a  ten  by  twelve  tent,  three  camp  beds  and 
bedding,  two  small  boats,  a  stock  of  provisions  for  six 
men  for  two  weeks,  one  rifle,  two  fowling  pieces,  and 
our  fishing  tackle,  were  soon  got  together,  and  in  twen- 
ty-four hours  from  the  first  proposal,  we  were  ready  to 
take  the  cars  for  Collingwood.  At  that  point  we  se- 
cured an  ample  supply  of  ice  ;  and  then  embarked  with 
our  traps  on  board  a  steamer  bound  for  Duluth  and  in- 
termediate ports,  and  touching  at  St.  Ignace  on  her  way. 
This  island  is  situated  in  Canadian  waters,  about 
thirty-five  miles  from  the  mouth  of  Nepigon  River, 
forty-seven  miles  east  of  the  famous  Silver  Islet  and 
some  seventy  from  Thunder  Bay.  I  say  island,  but 
there  are  in  fact  two  called  St.  Ignace  ;  the  largest  be- 
ing about  sixteen  miles  long  by  ten  wide  ;  with  gener- 
ally bluff  shores  and  high  headlands,  one  of  these  rising 
to  a  height  of  thirteen  hundred  and  fifty  feet  above  the 
lake  level.     The  smaller  island,   at  which  steamers 


A  TROUTING  TRIP  TO  ST.  IQNAGE  I8LAND.X\Z 

touch  and  upon  whicli  we  camped,  is  separated  from, 
the  larger  by  a  channel  of  from  fifty  to  a  hundred  yards 
wide,  and  is  about  two  miles  by  a  half  a  mile  in  size, 
having  one  bold  headland  five  hundred  feet  high. 
Neither  island  is  inhabited  except  by  occasional  Indians 
and  other  fishermen  ;  nor  do  either  of  them,  so  far  as  I 
observed,  contain  any  agricultural  land,  the  formation 
being  rock.  Both,  however,  as  well  as  contiguous 
groups,  are  mostly  covered  with  a  thick  growth  of 
spruce,  balsam,  birch  and  mountain  ash.  This  last  is 
so  plentiful  that  in  the  autumn  its  brilliant  red  leaves 
may  be  seen  from  quite  a  distance  at  sea,  framed  in  a 
background  of  dark  green  spruce,  and  presenting  a 
most  charming  view.  The  larger  island  contains  in  it- 
self numerous  small  lakes  which  abound  in  pike  {E, 
lucius),  and  what  we  Canadians  call  yellow  pickerel 
{Stizostedium  vitreum),  really  pike-perch.  No  one 
bothers  catching  these,  however,  as  the  surrounding 
waters  yield  an  enormous  supply  of  choicer  fish,  among 
which  are  said  to  be  ten  varieties  of  the  salmon  family  ; 
besides  whitefish,  some  of  which  attain  to  seventeen 
pounds  in  weight  !  I  took  some  trouble  to  ascertain 
the  local  names  by  which  the  various  species  of  trout 
are  known,  and  the  greatest  attested  weight  of  individ- 
uals of  each.  I  am  indebted  to  Mr.  Wm.  Boon,  of 
Barrie,  Ontario,  a  professional  fisherman  who  spends 
four  months  of  every  year  upon  the  island,  for  the  fol- 
lowing list,  which  I  give  without  vouching  in  any  way 
for  this  queer  addition  to  the  salmon  family: 


114  FISHING  WITH  THE  FLY, 

1.  Salmon  trout,  weight  up  to 70  lbs. 

2.  "Siskowitt,"  weight  up  to 12   " 

3.  HaK-breed  Siskowitt,  weight  up  to 5   " 

4.  "  Potgut,"  very  inferior  fish,  weight  up  to 12   " 

5.  Rock  or  black  trout,  weight  up  to 40  " 

6.  Large  gray  or  shovel-nose  trout,  weight  up  to 70   " 

7.  "  California  trout/'  yellow  spots  and  flesh,  weight 

up  to 10  " 

8.  "  Half-breed  red  trout,"  weight  up  to 15  " 

9.  Common  brook  or  speckled  trout,  weight  up  to  . .  7  *' 
10.   "  Red  trout,"  weight  up  to 42  *' 

All  of  these,  of  course,  are  local  naraes,  but  the 
fish  are  all  true  trout ;  crossed  and  re-crossed,  I  pre- 
sume, ad  infinitum.  The  brook  trout  is  the  only 
species  found  here  with  a  square  tail,  those  of  all  the 
others  being  more  or  less  forked.  The  "  red  trout "  is 
far  superior  to  any  of  its  confreres,  and  is  called  by  the 
Indians — Pugwashoo2,neg,  that  is,  Paysplatt — Dis- 
trict-fish, as  it  is  taken  only  in  this  locality,  and  only 
in  the  fall  of  the  year  as  a  rule.  The  Indians  come 
from  Nepigon  expressly  to  fish  for  it,  and  care  for  no 
other  trout  in  comparison.  It  is  much  more  highly 
esteemed  than  the  brook  trout.  This  very  day  on 
which  I  write  this  article,  I  had  a  salted  piece  of  one  of 
these  ''red  trout  "  for  dinner  and  found  the  flesh  of  a 
bright  pink,  and  the  flavor  exquisite.  I  shall  refer  to 
it  again. 

On  our  passage  from  Oollingwood  we  touched  at  the 
following  ports  and  ''landings,"  viz.  :  Meaford,  Owen 
Sound,  Killarney,  Little  Current,  Bruce  Mines,  Hilton, 


A  TROUTING  TRIP  TO  ST.  IGNACE  ISLAND.  115 

or  St.  Joseph  Island,  Garden  Eiver,  and  the  Sault. 
Thence,  yia  Michipicoton  Island  to  St.  Ignace.  I  may- 
say  here,  before  I  forget  it,  that  among  the  useful  pro- 
ductions of  this  last  are  incredible  quantities  of  huckle- 
berries and  *^  sand  cranberries."  The  former  were  just 
in  season  at  the  date  of  our  visit,  and  after  the  first 
day  ''  Jim  "  always  gave  us  capital  puddings  and  pies 
made  from  them. 

We  found  many  pleasant  people  on  board  the  steamer, 
with  whom  we  picked  acquaintance  in  that  free  and 
easy  manner  peculiar  the  world  over  to  anglers. 

After  a  delightful  trip  of  four  days,  we  made  the 
landing  on  our  Island  at  about  five  o'clock  on  a  beauti- 
ful evening,  and,  having  got  our  whole  outfit  ashore, 
selected  a  charming  spot  in  the  midst  of  a  spruce  grove 
as  a  camping  ground.  The  tent  was  put  up,  beds  and 
bedding  arranged,  supplies  for  present  use  unpacked, 
a  table  improvised  and  things  generally  "  set  out  "  in 
a  most  orderly  manner  by  the  Doctor  and  '^Bluffy," 
while  I  employed  myself  in  the  construction  of  a  fish 
corral,  the  use  of  which  will  be  seen  further  on. 
Meantime,  "  Jim  "  had,  with  a  few  loose  stones,  made 
for  himself  a  very  passable  fire-place,  and  soon  had  tea 
and  coffee  prepared,  several  appetizing  dishes  cooked, 
and  called  us  to  supper  at  6.30.  After  a  hearty  and 
enjoyable  meal,  we  proceeded  to  put  the  finishing 
touches  to  our  work ;  sorted  out  and  overhauled  our 
fishing  tackle  ;  caught  a  few  minnows  and  placed  them 
in  a  perforated  bucket  in  the  lake  ;  and  before  dark 


116  FISHING  WITH  THE  FLY. 

were  all  in  ship-shape  and  thoroughly  comfortable. 
*' Jim"  slung  his  hammock  between  and  beneath  two 
umbrageous  trees,  and  by  eight  o'clock,  with  a  full 
stomach  and  clear  conscience,  was  roosting  in  it,  happy 
as  a  lord  !  From  this  coign  of  vantage,  with  the  gath- 
ering darkness  to  hide  his  Mushes,  he  favored  us  with 
several  choice  negro  melodies  rendered  in  a  style  and 
with  a  pathos  which  any  "professional"  might  have 
envied.  As  the  night  deepened  we  drank  in  with  ap- 
propriate senses  all  the  delights  of  our  surroundings. 
The  great  fire  before  which  we  three  sat,  lighting  up 
with  weird  and  fantastic  effects  the  sombre  foliage  of 
the  adjacent  forest ;  the  plaintive  cry  of  the  distant 
loon ;  the  harsher  notes  of  the  bittern,  and  the  even, 
gentle  murmur  of  the  softly  lapping  waves,  all  united 
to  inspire  us  with  a  sense  of  freedom  and  happiness 
unknown  to  the  busy  world.  Serene  and  contented, 
we  "  turned  in  "  at  ten,  with  blissful  anticipations  for 
the  morrow.  We  had  not  forgotten  that  prime  neces- 
sity of  a  well-ordered  camp,  light,  but  had  brought  with 
us  several  pounds  of  sperm  candles,  two  gallons  of  oil 
and  a  good  swinging  lamp,  which,  suspended  from  the 
centre-pole,  not  only  rendered  the  tent  cheerful,  but 
gave  facilities  for  performing  with  ease  and  comfort  the 
thousand  and  one  little  jobs  which  precious  daylight 
could  not  be  wasted  upon.  Header,  did  you  ever  "camp 
out "  in  the  midst  of  a  dense  grove  of  pine  or  spruce 
trees  ?  If  not,  you  have  yet  to  enjoy  the*  luxury  of  the 
most  balmy  and  refreshing  sleep  which  can  bless  mortal 


A  TROUTINO  TRIP  TO  ST  IGNAGE  ISLAND.  117 

man.  There  is  a  something  in  the  delicious  aroma  of 
the  resinous  woods  which  induces  a  perfect  repose,  ob- 
tainable, in  my  experience,  throug/i  no  other  means. 
A  sound,  sweet,  wholesome,  and  yet  not  heavy  sleep  ; 
quiet  and  dreamless,  and  from  which  you  awake,  not 
drowsy  and  cross,  but  with  a  buoyancy  of  spirits,  a 
strength  of  body  and  clearness  of  mind  which  make 
even  hard  daily  toil  seem  a  mere  pastime.  And  so, 
with  thankful  hearts  sank  we  to  rest  on  this  our  first 
night  at  St.  Ignace.  There  are  no  black  flies  on  the 
Island,  and  the  season  was  too  far  advanced  for 
mosquitoes  to  be  troublesome  ;  facts  which  added  not  a 
little  to  our  serenity  of  mind  and  took  away  the  last 
excuse  for  ill-humor. 

The  next  morning,  after  partaking  of  a  breakfast 
which  fully  sustained  Jim's  reputation  as  a  cook, 
"  Squills  "  and  '*  Bluffy  "  agreed  to  go  out  in  the  larger 
of  the  two  boats,  leaving  the  small  one  for  me.  They 
were  provided  with  various  kinds  of  bait,  including  frogs, 
worms,  grubs,  grasshoppers,  and  minnows,  as  well  as  a 
goodly  supply  of  spoons  and  other  lures.  I  liad  decided 
upon  trying  flies  for  the  first  day,  and  if  found  effect- 
ive I  intended  to  stick  to  them.  The  boys  anchored 
out  at  about  a  hundred  yards  from  shore  and  went  to 
work  ;  and  I  moved  slowly  along  the  coast-line,  closely 
examining  the  bottom  and  the  lay  of  the  submerged 
rocks,  as  well  as  the  trend  of  the  contiguous  land.  When 
an  angler  is  in  strange  waters  he  will  find  this  prelim- 
inary survey  to  be  always  a  paying  operation.     By 


118  FISHING  WITH  THE  FLY. 

and  by  I  found  a  lovely-looking  reef  which  extended 
from  the  shore  to  deep  water.  This  reef  or  ledge  was 
broad  and  smooth  on  one  side,  but  the  other  dipped 
down  sharply,  and  presented  a  rough,  jagged,  and  cav- 
ernous face.  Here,  if  anywhere,  I  judged  fo7itinalis 
would  be  sure  to  lurk ;  so  I  anchored  within  twenty 
feet  of  the  precipitous  edge  of  the  reef,  with  water  ap- 
parently about  ten  feet  deep  under  the  boat,  but  of  pro- 
found depth  a  few  yards  from  the  ledge.  At  that  time 
I  had  no  split  bamboo  rod,  a  fact  which  I  have  ever 
since  regretted,  but  I  had  an  excellent  ash  and  lance- 
wood,  which  had  killed  myriads  of  fish,  and  is  still  to 
the  fore.  I  never  was  and  never  will  be  a  skilful  fly- 
fisherman,  or  perhaps  I  should  say — ^as  too  much  mod- 
esty savors  of  affectation — a  skilful  l^y-caster. 

That  is  I  never  could,  nor  can  I  yet,  make  an  effect- 
ive and  proper  cast  of  over  forty-two  feet  from  reel  to 
fly.  I  have  always  found,  however,  that  I  taJce  as 
many  fish  as  those  artistic  anglers  who  can  cast  more 
than  double  that  distance.  On  this  occasion  I  tried  a 
white  miller  as  tail  fly,  and  a  common  gray  hackle  as 
dropper,  and  they  succeeded  so  well  that  I  only  there- 
after changed  them  as  a  matter  of  experiment.  I  never 
at  any  time  during  this  trip  used  more  than  two  flies 
at  once,  as  that  number  gave  me  quite  enough  to  do. 

Well,  this  morning  of  which  I  am  now  writing,  was 
one  to  make  glad  the  heart  of  an  angler.  A  southwest 
wind  blew  softly,  and  the  sun  was  obscured  by  warm 
gray  clouds.     No  fish  of  any  decency  or  self-respect 


A  TROUTING  TRIP  TO  ST.  IGNACE  ISLAND.  119 

could  help  biting  on  such  a  day  !  I  felt  so  sure  of  good 
luck  that  I  put  overboard  a  wicker-work  basket,  with 
a  hole  in  the  lid,  so  arranged,  with  a  falling  spring  door, 
that  fish  could  be  put  in  but  could  not  get  out.  This 
floated  astern  and  would  keep  fully  a  hundred  pounds 
of  fish  alive,  if  necessary,  for  any  length  of  time.  Hav- 
ing fixed  everything  to  my  liking,  I  stood  up  and  made 
my  first  cast  along  the  edge  of  the  reef.  No  result  ! 
but  I  thought  I  saw  a  faint  suspicion  of  a  shadowy  form 
or  two,  and  a  slight  movement  of  the  water  just  behind 
my  flies.  Have  been  too  quick,  I  thought ;  and  so 
tried  again,  letting  the  flies  this  time  rest  until  they 
sank  an  inch  or  so  below  the  surface,  when  I  attempted 
to  draw  them  slowly  in.  I  say  attempted,  because  they 
had  not  moved  six  inches  when  first  the  dropper  and 
then  the  tail  fly  were  taken  in  a  rush,  by  two  large  trout 
which  didn't  draw  towards  me  worth  a  cent,  for  some 
fifteen  minutes  at  least.  On  the  contrary  they  darted 
away  as  if  the  Old  Nick  was  after  them  with  a  red-hot 
frying-pan  ;  pulling  in  unison  like  a  pair  of  well- 
broken  colts  and  severely  trying  my  rather  too  light 
tackle.  Any  decided  check  was  out  of  the  question. 
I  could  only  put  on  such  pressure  as  the  single  gut 
leader  would  bear,  and  that  was  sufficient  to  make  a 
half -circle  of  my  rod.  I  had  beautiful  open  water  in 
which  to  play  the  fish,  but  as  they  rushed  along  and 
down  the  face  of  the  submerged  cliff,  I  did  not  know 
what  hidden  dangers  might  lurk  in  the  unseen  depths, 
nor  at  what  moment  a  sharp,  jagged  rock  might  cut 


120  FI8HIWG  WITH  THE  FLY. 

the  line,  or  some  profound  recess  furnish  a  retreat  from 
whence  it  might  he  impossible  to  withdraw  my  prize. 
So  far,  however,  all  went  well.  The  fish  in  their  terror 
had  sought  deep  water  and  not  touched  rock  at  all. 
Soon  the  distraction  of  the  heaVy,  ceaseless  strain  caused 
them  to  forget  the  glorious  maxim  that,  '^  in  union  is 
strength,"  and  they  began  to  pull  different  ways.  Now 
I  was  sure  of  them  !  and  yery  gradually  and  gently, 
inch  by  inch,  I  coaxed  tliem  away  from  the  dangerous 
ground,  and  got  them  safely  above  the  smooth  bottom 
of  the  plateau  on  the  farther  side  of  the  boat,  where  I 
could  see  their  every  motion  and  watch  their  brave 
struggles  for  life.  A  prettier  sight  I  never  witnessed 
than  the  curious  way  in  which  the  movements  of  one 
fish  neutralized  those  of  the  other.  If  one  sought  the 
bottom,  his  mate  went  for  the  surface  ;  if  one  rushed 
away  seawards,  the  other  came  towards  the  boat.  They 
literally  played  each  other,  and  I  was  for  awhile  a  mere 
spectator  !  After  looking  upon  these  cross-purposes  for 
some  minutes,  I  noticed  that  the  fish  on  the  tail  fly  be- 
came entangled  with  the  line  above  his  comrade  on  the 
dropper,  and  both  then  began  to  whirl  furiously  round 
and  round  after  the  usual  manner  of  trout  in  a  like 
predicament.  When  the  wildest  of  this  flurry  was  over, 
I  drew  them  cautiously  to  the  boat  and  dipped  up  both 
at  once  with  my  landing  net.  An  immediate  applica- 
tion of  my  pocket  scale  proved  their  weight  to  be  twen- 
ty-nine and  thirty-three  ounces  respectively,  the  heav- 
iest trout  being  that  on  the  drop  or  upper  fly.     They 


A  TROUTING  TBIP  TO  ST.  IGITACE  ISLAND.  121 

were  evidently  a  mated  pair,  and  both  were  broad- 
shonldered,  deep  fish,  but  not  very  long,  the  largest 
being  only  sixteen  and  a  half  inches.  Their  backs  were 
beautifully  clouded  and  mottled,  but  the  carmine  spots 
on  their  sides  were  not  quite  so  vivid  as  those  of  dark 
river- water  trout.  Fortunately  they  were  merely  lip- 
hooked,  and  being  at  once  placed  in  the  floating  creel, 
soon  revived.  Now  I  began  to  feel  big,  and  thought 
myself  quite  an  expert,  but  in  less  than  five  minutes 
the  conceit  was  taken  out  of  me  with  a  vengeance,  for 
on  my  very  next  cast  I  struck  a  magnificent  fish  and 
lost  him,  and  half  my  leader,  instanter.  On  feeling  the 
hook  old  Salmo  went  like  a  shot  over  the  brow  of  the 
declivity  and  (I  suppose)  into  a  hole,  and  cut  the  line 
short  off.  After  that  mishap  I  became  more  careful, 
and  never  dropped  my  fly  more  than  six  inches  from 
the  edge  of  the  reef ;  and  whenever  a  fish  was  struck  I 
drew  him  at  once,  at  all  hazards,  away  from  the  risky 
ground  and  played  him  on  the  plateau. 

By  ten  o'clock  I  had  secured  fifteen  beauties,  some 
running  close  upon  three  pounds.  Eleven  of  these  were 
as  lively  as  ever,  but  four  had  been  hooked  in  the  throat 
and  soon  died. 

As  the  day  was  now  becoming  bright  and  hot,  I 
thought  it  time  to  look  after  my  boys,  who  were  out  of 
sight  around  a  point.  I  soon  came  up  with  them  and 
found  "  Squills  "  asleep  in  the  bottom  of  the  boat  while 
*'  Bluffy  "  sat  smoking,  with  his  rod  lying  idly  across 
the  gunnel  with  the  line  in  the  water.     "  What  luck. 


122  FISHING  WITH  THE  FLY. 

boys  ?  "  I  shouted.  *'  Squills  "  awoke  and  replied, 
"  What  luck  yourself.  Governor  ?  Not  one  blessed  fish 
in  this  region."  I  settled  on  my  sculls,  ready  for  a 
quick  start,  and  said,  "  Why,  Squills,  you  don't  know 
Tiow  to  fish.  Just  compound  a  few  of  your  best  pre- 
scriptions and  throw  them  overboard.  They  have  gen- 
erally proved  fatal  to  your  patients,  and  will  murder 
the  fish  sure."  "Squills"  made  a  wicked  dab  at  my 
head  with  his  long-handled  net,  but  a  stroke  put  me  in 
safety,  and  I  added,  "And  you,  "friend  '  Bluffy,' just 
rehash  that  famous  trespass-case  speech  of  yours,  which 
gave  the  judge  fits  and  nearly  killed  the  jury,  and  if 
you  don't  have  lots  of  dead  fish,  I'm  a  Dutchman." 
The  poor  boys,  however,  were  past  joking  ;  and  I  rowed 
back  and  examined  their  ground.  They  had  actually 
been  fishing  all  the  morning  in  water  nine  feet  deep  ; 
over  a  bottom  smooth  as  a  billiard  table,  without  a 
weed,  rock  or  stone  to  hide  them  from  the  fish  ;  all 
of  which,  within  a  hundred  yards,  could  plainly  see 
them  and  their  boat.  So  I  said,  "  Come  boys,  we'll  go 
to  camp  and  have  an  early  trout  dinner,  and  in  the 
evening  you  shall  catch  fish  to  your  heart's  content." 
Then  up,  after  this  manner,  spoke  the  dolorous 
"  Squills,"  "  That  is  all  right.  Governor,  but  it  strikes 
me  that  in  order  fully  to  enjoy  a  trout-dinner,  it  is, 
above  all  things,  necessary  first  to  have  the  trout." 
"  True,  most  sapient  medicus,  and  here  they  are,"  I 
rejoined,  at  the  same  time  lifting  the  lid  of  my  creel. 
"  Glory  to  Galen  ! "  "  Thunder  and  turf  ! "  "  Ghost  of 


A  TROUTING  TRIP  TO  ST.  IGNAGE  ISLAND.  123 

Walton  !  where  did  you  get  those,  Governor  ?"  both 
exclaimed  in  a  breath.  "  Boys,"  said  I,  '^  you  are 
hungry,  tired,  and  cross  ;  possess  your  souls  in  patience; 
come  to  camp  ;  take  some  lime-juice  and  water,  with  a 
little  of  something  in  it ;  eat,  drink,  and  recover  your 
strength,  and  you  shall  have  the  best  afternoon's  sport 
you  ever  saw."  These  words  of  wisdom  cheered  the 
fellows  up  wonderfully,  and  we  all  put  off  for  camp. 

That  redolent  and  shiny  youth,  Jim,  soon  cleaned 
two  of  the  dead  fish,  together  about  five  pounds,  cooked 
them  in  a  style  of  his  own,  and  we  sat  down  at  the  un- 
fashionable hour  of  eleven  to  our  first  camp  dinner.  I 
will,  for  once,  give  the  menu,  merely  to  show  what 
awful  hardships  we  had  to  encounter  ! 

Brook  trout,  fried  in  red-hot  lard,  garnished  with 
bread  crumbs  ;  broiled  mutton  chops  ;  baked  potatoes  ; 
cold  tongue  ;  pickles  ;  sauces  and  jellies  :  aftercourse — 
pancakes  with  maple  syrup  ;  wind  up — Stilton  cheese. 
Didn't  we  just  suffer  for  our  country  ?  After  the  in- 
evitable and  welcome  pipe  (not  cigars),  and  some  choice 
and  (I  am  happy  to  say)  chaste  anecdotes  by  "  Bluffy," 
we  laid  down  for  a  two  hours'  siesta.  Oh,  the  glory,  the 
happiness  of  out-door  life,  away  from  posts,  telegraphs, 
or  newspapers  !  Oh,  the  delight  of  feeling  that  every 
fresh  breath  of  pure  ozone-laden  air,  adds  to  health  and 
wholesome  animal  spirits,  and  is  rapidly  re-invigorat- 
ing your  system,  and  fitting  you  to  more  effectually 
take  part  in  renewed  and  honest  work  ! 

At  four  o'clock  the  sun  was  again  obscured  by  kindly 


124  FISHING  WITH  THE  FLY. 

clouds  and  we  all  went  out  to  the  reef  ;  the  boys,  as 
before,  in  one  boat,  and  I  in  the  other.  And  then  oc- 
curred sport  such  as  is  seldom  seen  in  genuine  trout- 
fishing.  My  friends  stuck  to  their  minnow  and  grass- 
hopper bait,  while  I  retained  the  fly.  I  induced  them 
to  anchor  quite  close  to  the  edge  of  the  reef,  so  that 
they  might,  if  necessary,  drop  their  lines  perpendicu- 
larly down  its  face.  They  had  not  fished  five  minutes 
when  ^^ Bluffy"  gave  a  whoop,  which  might  have 
awakened  a  petit-juror  or  scared  a  witness  out  of  his 
boots.  I  glanced  that  way,  and  found  the  man  of  law 
standing  up  in  the  boat  with  curved  and  straining  rod 
and  a  glow  of  intense  satisfaction  pervading  his  jolly 
countenance.  "  I've  got  him.  Governor  !  He's  a 
whopper ;  an  old  he  fellow  !  None  of  your  three 
pounders,"  he  yelled  in  great  excitement.  Sure  enough, 
he  had  him,  and  after  ten  minutes  of  skilful  play, 
landed  a  trout  of  over  four  pounds. 

This  beat  me  all  hollow  !  Indeed  the  largest  S,  fon- 
tinalis  I  tooli  on  this  trip  weighed  three  pounds,  one 
ounce,  being  two  ounces  lighter  than  the  heaviest  I 
have  ever  yet  caught. 

'^  Squills  "  now  got  his  hand  in  and  brought  out  a 
dashing  fish  of  three  and  a-half  pounds,  in  a  manner  so 
pretty  and  artistic  as  to  elicit  a  warm  eulogium  from  the 
*'  Governor,"  who,  of  course,  had  not  meantime  been 
idle  himself.  In  fact,  I  had  taken  a  double  and  single 
while  the  boys  got  their  two  ;  but  these  outweighed  my 
three.    All  through  our  excursion  the  largest  fish  were 


A  TEOUTINQ  TRIP  TO  ST.  lONAGE  ISLAND,  125 

invariably  taken  by  bait,  but  not  so  many  of  them  as 
by  the  fly.  However,  the  fly  was  so  much  less  trouble 
and  so  much  prettier,  and  cleaner  to  handle,  I  did  not 
care  to  change,  seeing  at  once  that  we  should  catch 
more  fish  than  we  wanted  anyway. 

It  was  a  great  treat  to  me  to  watch  the  enjoyment 
the  boys  had  in  their  sport.  Neither  of  them  had  been 
out  before  for  years,  and  no  student  at  the  beginning 
of  a  long  vacation  could  have  manifested  such  un- 
bounded delight  at  his  freedom,  as  did  they  with  their 
fishing  and  its  accompanying  pleasures.  It  is  a  fact 
worthy  of  note  that  while  I,  using  the  fly,  took  only 
speckled  trout  {8,  fontinalis),  my  friends,  with  bait, 
secured  several  of  other  and  larger  kinds. 

Well,  amid  laughter,  joke  and  repartee,  the  after- 
noon wore  away,  and  evening  shades  came  all  too 
quickly. 

Our  sporfc  had  been  almost  unique  in  its  exhilarating 
success  and  joyousness.  When  the  sun  sank  below 
the  waters  we  had  taken  in  all  seventy-six  fine  trout, 
none  under  one  pound.  Of  this  number  my  fly  was 
responsible  for  thirty-two,  "  Squills  "  had  taken  twen- 
ty-one, and  "  Bluffy  "  twenty-three.  A  lovelier  lot  of 
fish  was  never  seen  ;  and  with  the  exception  of  eight 
dead  ones,  we  transferred  them  all  safely  to  the  corral, 
built  in  the  edge  of  the  lake  near  our  tent,  with  large 
stones.  Here,  about  eighty  per  cent,  of  all  the  fish 
taken  on  this  trip  remained  alive  during  the  whole  time 
of  our  stay.     Whenever  one  showed  signs  of  failing 


126  FISHING  WITH  THE  FLY, 

we  dipped  him  out  for  present  use.  This  corral, 
backed  up  by  our  supply  of  ice,  gave  us  full  assurances 
that  our  good  luck  would  not  be  followed  by  reckless 
waste. 

But  I  had  almost  forgotten  the  chief  incident  of  this 
memorable  day.  As  we  approached  the  camp  we  saw 
"Jim"  on  the  shore  dancing  a  double  "Yirginny 
break-down  "  and  grinning  all  over  from  head  to  foot ; 
his  shining  ebony  face  and  gleaming  teeth  fairly  illum- 
inating the  coming  darkness.  On  seeing  us  he  yelled 
out,  "  I  got  him,  gentlemen  ;  I  beats  you  all ;  takes  this 
nigger  to  catch  fish  ! " 

The  imp  had  actually  made  for  himself  a  raft  of 
drift-wood,  paddled  it  out  to  deep  water,  and  taken 
with  bait  a  great  salmon  trout  of  twenty  pounds  !  and 
it  was  now  swimming  about  in  the  corral  like  a  very 
leviathan  among  my  morning's  catch.  This  tickled  us 
all  so  immensely  that  we  then  and  there  bestowed  upon 
'^  Jim  "  an  extra  "  quarter  "  each.  This  boy  was  indeed 
a  treasure  ;  a  first-class  cook  and  care-taker ;  willing, 
faithful,  and  honest ;  while  his  store  of  songs,  exhibits 
of  dancing,  and  never-failing  fun  and  good-humor, 
would  have  sufiiced  to  keep  cheerful  any  camp  in  the 
world.  Poor  fellow !  he  was  drowned  two  years  later 
in  Lake  Michigan,  while  bathing. 

If  I  did  not  fear  to  spin  out  this  already  dull  narra- 
tive to  an  inordinate  length,  I  should  like  to  give  a 
detailed  account  of  each  of  the  twelve  days  we  fished 
and  shot  in  this  vicinity. 


A  TROUTING  TRIP  TO  SI  lONACE  ISLAND.  127 

Twelve  days  only,  mind  you,  for  not  a  line  was  wet 
on  Sunday, 

Our  one  rifle  proved  a  useful  adjunct,  but  we  found 
no  use  for  the  shot-guns,  the  season  being  too  early  and 
the  weather  too  fine  for  ducks.  The  delicately  sighted 
"Winchester,  however,  procured  us  several  fine  specimens 
of  the  loon  or  great  northern  diver,  and  one  or  two 
large  blue  cranes,  all  of  which,  I  presume,  now  adorn 
^*  Squills' "  sanctum  in  British  Columbia. 

Almost  every  day  we  had  choice  sport,  and  we  limited 
our  catch  only  by  the  facilities  we  possessed  for  saving 
and  carrying  away  the  fish. 

One  particular  day  we  devoted  to  salmon  and  red  trout, 
which  we  fished  for  away  off  in  very  deep  water,  all  of 
us  using  either  spoons  or  live  herring  bait,  in  trolling. 
We  had  plenty  of  wholesome  exercise  in  rowing,  and 
very  fair  luck  as  regards  fish  ;  taking  in  all,  seven  sal- 
mon trout  and  five  red  trout. 

The  honors  of  this  day  fell  to  "Squills,"  who  cap- 
tured with  his  spoon  a  salmon  trout  of  nineteen 
pounds,  while  I  got  a  red  trout  of  ten  pounds.  This 
last  named  fish  is  as  pink  in  the  flesh  and  as  fine  fla- 
vored as  Salmo  solar.  It  is  said  by  local  fishermen  to 
be  in  fact  the  same  fish,  and  they  suppose  that  in  ages 
long  past  sea  salmon  had  some  means  of  reaching  this 
lake,  and  when  the  waters  subsided  some  were  left,  and 
that  from  them  the  red  trout  is  descended.  As  I  have 
myself  no  scientific  knowledge  whatever  I  cannot  offer 
an  opinion  upon  this  point.     I  can  only  say  that  if  a 


128  FISHING  WITH  THE  FLY. 

skilled  fisherman,  or  eyen  a  scientist,  were  to  receive  one 
of  these  fish  from,  say  Quebec,  he  could  hardly  distin- 
guish it  from  the  veritable  Salmo  solar,  though  it  bears 
even  a  more  exact  resemblance  to  the  salmon  of  Frazer 
Eiver,  British  Columbia. 

I  am  told  that  this  red  trout  will  rise  to  the  fly,  but 
I  cannot  vouch  for  the  fact,  as  all  we  took  were  captured 
with  bait  or  spoon. 

A  rather  curious,  though  frequently  occurring,  thing 
happened  one  evening  as  we  were  all  fishing,  with  our 
boats  not  more  than  fifty  feet  apart.  I  had  hooked, 
and  was  playing  a  medium  sized  speckled  trout,  when 
it  was  seized  and  gorged  by  a  sixteen-pound  salmon 
trout.  I  realized  the  situation  instantly  and  gave 
line  freely,  so  as  to  allow  the  poacher  lots  of  time 
to  swallow  his  stolen  prey.  The  rifle  was  in  the 
other  boat,  and  I  asked  the  boys  to  come  alongside,  as 
we  should  probably  have  to  use  cold  lead,  the  fish  being 
too  large  for  our  landing  nets.  By  the  time  they  were 
in  position,  about  sixty  feet  of  my  line  had  gone  slow- 
ly out,  and  I  judged  that  the  large  fish  had  got  the 
small  one  fairly  in  his  stomach.  I  then  began  to  reel 
in  very  gently,  and  was  surprised  to  find  that  the  big 
trout  followed  my  lead  with  great  docility  until  I  had 
brought  him  quite  near  the  surface.  Then  he  became 
alarmed  and  dashed  off — a  proceeding  to  which  I  made 
no  resistance,  as  I  feared  pulling  the  bait  from  his 
throat.  Being  apparently  satisfied  that  all  was  right, 
my  unknown  friend  soon  became  quiescent,  and  I  could 


A  TBOUTING  TRIP  TO  ST  IGNACE  ISLAND,  129 

only  feel  a  slight  tremor  of  the  line  as  he  settled  his 
supper  satisfactorily  in  his  maw.  Again  I  coaxed  him 
slowly  and  cautiously  towards  the  boat  in  which  stood 
'^  Bluffy  "  with  poised  rifle.  This  time  I  ventured  to 
make  him  show  himself  within  twenty  feet  of  the 
muzzle  of  the  gun,  when  "  Bluffy  "  yery  neatly  put  a 
bullet  through  his  head,  and  he  turned  belly  up  and 
was  got  on  board.  '^  Well  done,  'Bluffy,'"  said 
*'  Squills  ;  "  *'  your  practice  could  not  have  done  greater 
execution  if  you  had  been  making  out  a  bill  of  costs  for 
a  client."  "  Well,  no,"  says  "  Bluffy  ; "  "  but  I  think 
perhaps  one  of  your  curative  ^\]\^  would  have  killed  the 
fish  more  unutterably  dead."  ."  Peace,  boys,  peace," 
said  the  "  Governor  "  ;  "this  is  a  solemn  occasion  ;  we 
have  used  unlawful  and  unsportsmanlike  means  to  take 
a  game  fish  ;  but  as  it  could  not  be  helped  we  will  con- 
done the  offence  by  giving  the  fish  away  to  the  first  de- 
serving object  we  meet."  "And  that  will  be  'Jim,' " 
quietly  observed  "Squills." 

But  dear  me  !  what  is  the  use  of  trying  to  tell  all  the 
fun  and  glorious  sport  we  had  ?  The  pen  of  a  "  Frank 
Forester  "  or  a  Hallock  might  do  justice  to  the  subject, 
mine  cannot.  Suffice  it  to  say  that,  as  the  days  went 
on,  each  one  made  me  feel  younger  and  younger,  until 
I  found  it  hard  to  convince  myself  that  I  was  over 
twenty-five.  As  to  my  comrades,  we  had  not  been  out 
a  week  before  they  were  boys  of.  sixteen  I 

Last  days  will  come,  however,  and  all  too  quickly,  let 
us  bear  up  never  so  bravely.     The  fifteenth  morning 


130  FISHING  WITH  THE  FLY. 

saw  us  packing  up  and  preparing  to  return  once  more 
to  civilized  life  and  "  the  busy  haunts  of  men." 

I  am  afraid  to  say  how  many  trout  we  had  at  the 
finish,  but  I  know  that  we  packed  in  ice  more  than 
three  hundred  pounds  weight  to  take  home  with  us ; 
and  gave  away,  almost  alive  from  the  corral,  nearly  as 
many  more  to  the  captain  of  the  steamer,  thereby  call- 
ing down  upon  our  heads  the  earnest  blessings  of  pas- 
sengers and  crew. 

I  find,  on  looking  over  this  MS.  that  I  have  forgotten 
to  say  that  we  discovered  several  places  along  the  chan- 
nel edge  of  the  island  where  most  excellent  trout-fish- 
ing could  be  had  from  the  shore  ;  and  that,  by  the  ad- 
vice of  local  fishermen,  my  friends  tried  the  '^hearts  " 
of  killed  trout  as  bait,  and  found  such  very  effective. 
This  "heart"  is  a  piece  of  flesh  which  lies  inside  the 
pointed  part  of  the  fish's  belly  which  runs  between  the 
gill  covers.  It  looks  much  like  a  genuine  heart,  and 
pulsates  for  several  seconds  after  being  removed  from 
the  fish.  I  suppose  that  it  is  in  fact  a  real  heart. 
Never  once  did  this  bait  fail  to  attract  a  bite  ;  but,  of 
course,  not  many  hearts  could  be  obtained,  as  we  ex- 
tracted the  delicate  morsel  only  from  such  fish  a^  were 
required  for  immediate  consumption. 

We  finally  bade  farewell  to  our  two  weeks'  elysium, 
with  sorrowful  feelings,  but  before  the  lapse  of  twenty- 
four  hours,  kind  and  loving  thoughts  of  wives,  little 
ones,  and  home  re-asserted  themselves,  and  we  landed 
at  Collingwood  in  jubilant  spirits  and  vigorous  health. 


A  TBOUTING  TRIP  TO  ST.  IGNACE ISLAND.  131 

fully  prepared  to  resume  our  several  avocations,  and 
fight  again  the  battles  of  life  with  renewed  courage  and 
hope. 

P.S. — We  were  absent  from  Barrie  twenty-five  days 
in  all,  and  the  whole  trip  cost  us  only  one  hundred  and 
thirty-five  dollars,  or  forty-five  dollars  each.  Our  ice 
was  kept  almost  intact  by  being  wrapped  in  blankets 
and  covered  with  spruce  boughs.  Mr.  Boon,  before 
referred  to,  has  built  and  is  this  winter  (1883)  filling  a 
large  ice-house  on  the  small  island  for  his  own  use  and 
that  of  any  visitors  who  may  fish  in  the  neighborhood 
next  summer.  Mr.  Boon  took  five  hundred  half  barrels 
of  choice  fish  on  these  grounds  last  season ;  with  nets, 
of  course. 


"  If  there  is  one  day's  fishing  in  the  year  which  the  trout- 
angler  looks  forward  to  more  keenly  than  any  other,  it  surely  is 
the  first  day  with  his  favorite  old  rod  on  the  bank  of  some  favor- 
ite stream." — R.  B.  Marston. 

"  A  salmon  will  rise  again  and  again  at  a  fly  after  he  has  missed 
it.     In  this  he  differs  widely  from  the  trout." — Lorenzo  Prouty. 

"  Then  I  gave  Mm  a  gray  hackle  and  told  him  that  that  was  to 
the  trout  what  bread  was  to  civilized  man — a  staple  article  of 
which  he  seldom  grew  tired." — "  Bourgeois.''^ 

' '  I  am  inclined  to  believe  that  more  important  than  fishing  up 
or  down  stream,  more  important  than  wearing  brilliant  or  sober- 
tinted  clothing,  more  important  than  wading  rather  than  fishing 
from  the  bank,  more  important  than  a  dry  or  a  wet  fly,  more  im- 
portant than  being  yourself  visible  or  concealed,  more  important, 
indeed,  than  any  of  the  different  cautions  of  the  books,  is  it  to 
have  your  leader  absolutely  invisible,  or,  if  that  is  impossible, 
then  at  least  that  it  present  to  the  trout  no  unusual  or  unfamiliar 
appearance." — Henry  P.  Wells. 

*'The  idea  that  each  month  has  its  own  killing  flies  is  sbeer 
nonsense  ;  a  fly  that  is  good  on  a  bright  day  in  the  spring  is  good 
on  any  other  bright  day,  although  it  must  be  admitted  that  trout 
are  fickle  in  their  tastes." — Fred  Mather. 

"  Hackled  flies  are  generally  better  than  those  that  are  winged  ; 
but  dress  both,  and  give  the  fish  which  they  prefer." — Michael 
TJieakston. 

"  After  fishing  for  a  time  with  any  one  fly,  and  the  salmon  re- 
fuse to  rise  at  it  freely,  we  change  to  an  opposite  color,  say  from 
dark  to  light,  or  vice  wrsay  which  we  find  will  bring  them  up 
when  the  former  fly  has  lost  its  attraction  or  been  regarded  with 
suspicion." — AUan  Qilmour. 

'*  The  rudest  appliances  of  a  savage  life  have  been  used  to  aid 
the  angler  at  his  delightful  task,  and  science  has  not  disdained  to 
aid  the  modern  fisherman  in  his  sport." — Qenio  Q.  JScoti. 


I 


THE  ANGLER'S  GREETING. 

BY 

W.  DAVID  TOMLIN. 


Whither  away,  friend  !  Your  black  slender  rod-box 
and  the  creel  denote  you  are  on  fishing  intent,  but 
where  are  you  bound  ? 

A  momentary  glance,  a  cordial  good  evening ;  the 
question  then  came — To  whom  am  I  indebted  for  this 
greeting  ?  An  exchange  of  cards  resulted  in  a  long 
and  cordial  grasp  of  hands  ;  glad  to  meet  you  !  Is  it 
possible  ?  The  magic  pasteboard  revealed  two  names 
not  unknown  to  each  other  through  the  columns  of 
their  favorite  angling  journal,  and  this  visitor  had  come 
to  the  little  country  station  in  quest  of  some  of  the  fish- 
ing often  spoken  of  in  the  said  paper. 

The  fates  had  led  the  correspondent  to  the  railway 
station  to  bid  good-bye  to  a  friend  when  the  angler  un- 
limbered  himself  therefrom ;  and  was  looking  around 
as  strangers  do. 

"  Can  you  recommend  a  quiet  inn  near  this  point 
where  I  can  find  decent  treatment  ?  I  am  not  inclined 
to  be  fussy." 

A  few  minutes'  walk  and  I  introduced  him  to  mine 
host,  who  was  a  genuine  piscator,  and  nothing  pleased 


134  FISHING  WITH  THE  FLY. 

him  better  than  to  have  an  angler  under  his  roof  :  he 
took  possession  of  him  and  considered  nothing  too 
much  trouble,  so  long  as  he  gave  his  guests  good  fish- 
ing, clean  beds,  a  square  meal,  and  satisfaction. 

While  supper  was  being  prepared,  we  pleasantly 
chatted  over  the  prospect  of  sport,  and  the  angler's  aim 
and  ambition.  He  wanted  a  day  or  two  of  trouting, 
and  some  roach  fishing  with  a  fly,  as  he  had  read  some 
letters  giving  an  experience  in  fishing  for  these  dainty 
fish,  and  intended  trying  them.  The  inspection  of  a 
well-filled  fly-book  showed  how  carefully  he  had  selected 
his  stock. 

The  early  supper  over,  we  strolled  up  the  hillsides 
overlooking  this  lovely  vale.  On  the  grassy  downs  we 
seated  ourselves,  and  I  pointed  out  to  him  the  various 
fishing  points ;  yonder  is  a  splendid  reach  where  the 
trout  are  always  found  ;  see  that  sheeny  rivulet  coming 
down  through  that  clump  of  trees  !  that  is  the  best 
trout  stream  in  this  section  of  country. 

Note  the  different  water-courses.  The  canal  runs 
through  the  middle  of  the  valley ;  see  here,  clear  away 
to  the  west,  a  little  brook  comes  tumbling  in ;  see  just 
below  that  point,  a  silvery-looking  stream  on  the  farther 
side  of  the  canal — that  is  a  fine  trout  stream  ;  follow  its 
course  until  it  loses  itself  in  that  big  clump  of  willows  : 
a  saw-mill  is  hidden  in  those  willows,  and  the  stream, 
after  supplying  the  mill  with  power,  drops  into  a  cul- 
vert under  the  bed  of  the  canal ;  there  it  is  again  in 
that  piece  of  open  moorland  ;   there  it  is  coming  out 


THE  ANGLERS  GREETING.  135 

from  that  long  clump  of  willows,  and  finally  joining 
the  stream  mentioned  before  as  the  best  trout  stream 
in  this  region  ;  thus  the  two  streams,  the  Gade  and  the 
little  Bourne,  are  swallowed  up  in  the  canal ;  and  have 
always  been  splendid  waters  for  roach  fishing. 

The  hills  hide  the  canal  and  streams  in  their  wind- 
ing course,  or  I  would  point  out  to  you  the  best  fishing 
grounds  for  miles  along  this  Hertfordshire  valley ;  but  I 
presume  there  lies  under  your  observation  enough  fish- 
ing ground  for  a  day  or  two. 

The  sun  is  tending  downward  like  a  huge  ball  of  fire, 
the  vale  is  in  a  dreamy  shade  ;  how  glistening  the  ap- 
pearance of  the  water-courses,  like  a  big  silvery  thread 
winding  in  and  out  along  the  vale  !  the  evening  air  is 
full  of  music ;  the  bee  is  humming  around  you  ;  what 
a  flood  of  music  comes  from  the  throat  of  that  wood- 
land thrush  in  yonder  thorn  hedge  !  the  strain  is  taken 
up,  and  the  very  woods  echo  again  with  the  song  of  the 
black-bird.  As  he  ceases  his  roundelay,  the  soft  clear 
note  of  another  bird  strikes  on  the  ear  ;  for  the  moment 
nature  seems  hushed  ;  almost  breathless  you  wait ;  the 
notes  come  rich  and  clear,  as  silvery  as  a  lute,  a  flood 
of  melody ;  the  sound  dies  away  and  instantly  the 
woods  ring  again;  all  the  sweet-throated  songsters 
seem  as  if  applauding  the  song  of  the  nightingale  ;  we 
sit  and  drink  in  these  sounds,  until  one  by  one  the 
songs  drop  into  silence,  leaving  the  nightingale  to  pour 
out  its  tuneful  music  until  far  into  the  night.  At  this 
moment  there  comes  in  the  air  the  quivering  boom  of  a 


136  FISnmG  WITH  THE  FLY. 

bell  ringing  out  the  hour  of  nine  from  the  steeple  of  the 
church  yonder,  faintly  limned  on  the  evening  shadows. 
Ah  !  listen  again  !  there  comes  the  evening  chime. 
How  the  quivering  notes  pulsate  up  here  on  these  Kill- 
tops  !  how  silvery  the  tones  ;  as  the  chords  of  the  vesper 
hymn  rings  out  sweet  and  clear,  our  hearts  beat  in 
rhythm  to  the  strain  !  Lovely  vale  !  Israel's  grandest 
seer,  who  with  eye  undimmed  and  natural  force  un- 
abated, even  from  Pisgah's  lofty  heights  gazed  on  no 
lovelier  scene  than  this  we  have  surveyed.  We  descend 
into  the  shadows  ;  promising  to  meet  my  angling  friend 
some  time  during  the  following  day,  I  wend  my  way 
homeward  and  to  rest. 

The  evening  shadows  were  again  falling  ere  I  could 
join  our  angler,  but  the  flies  were  on  the  waters  and 
roach  were  fairly  jumping,  the  surface  of  the  stream 
was  alive  with  fish,  both  roach  and  dace  breaking  water 
around  us.  My  friend  was  no  novice  ;  I  found  him 
whipping  the  stream  from  bank  to  bank,  and  his  creel 
testified  to  his  success.  He  was  using  a  tail  fly  and 
dropper,  a  red  hackle  for  the  former,  and  an  imitation 
of  the  common  blue  house-fly  for  the  dropper.  These 
fish  are  fastidious  in  their  tastes ;  they  do  not  rise  at 
flies  like  a  trout,  but  come  to  the  surface  of  the  water 
and  just  break  for  the  fly  and  at  once  turn  tail  up.  He 
who  fishes  for  them  must  have  a  quick  eye  and  steady 
hand  ;  then  he  can  kill  readily  enough.  They  are  a 
toothsome  fish,  but  a  trifle  bony.  Eye  and  hand  must 
work  together,  and  when  fish  are  feeding  they  will  readily 


THE  ANOLERS  GREETING.  137 

take  the  fly.  They  are  tender  in  the  mouth  and  re- 
quire care  in  handling.  They  afford  good  sport  in 
streams  where  they  are  abundant,  and  are  often  killed 
weighing  from  one  and  a-half  to  two  pounds. 

My  angling  friend  had  come  well  prepared  with  let- 
ters introducing  him  to  the  owners  of  the  fine  trout 
streams,  and  readily  obtained  permission  to  fish  these 
preserved  waters.  It  was  rare  sport  to  watch  him 
daintily  lay  out  his  line  across  the  stream,  his  stretcher 
a  June  fly,  or  at  times  a  floating  May-fly  skittered 
across  the  surface  until  close  to  the  farther  bank.  Here 
lay  a  big  Salmo  fario.  We  had  been  watching  him 
lazily  coming  to  the  surface  to  suck  in  a  fly  or  bug  that 
had  tumbled  from  the  trees  overhead.  A  big  cock- 
chafer came  spinning  and  buzzing  down  stream.  All 
laziness  gone  in  an  instant,  up  came  the  Salmo  showing 
his  huge  sides.  A  fierce  lunge  and  a  heavy  splash  and 
the  'chafer  was  gone  into  the  cavern  of  the  open 
mouth.  The  fly-book  was  out  in  an  instant.  A  dark 
brown  fly  somewhat  resembling  the  'chafer  replaced 
the  stretcher.  A  careful  cast  a  little  up  stream,  a 
lunge  and  a  miss  from  the  trout.  Another  cast  close 
in  to  the  bank,  a  slight  jerk  and  the  fly  assumed  the 
appearance  of  the  buzzing  'chafer ;  the  same  sharp 
dash,  the  hand  was  as  quick  as  the  trout  this  time, 
the  hook  was  driven  home  and  the  fun  began.  Such 
a  dashing,  splurging,  rushing  I  had  never  seen.  He 
was  determined  to  use  every  art  known  to  trout-lore 
before  he  surrendered.     The  rod  bent  and  sprung,  the 


138  FISHING  WITH  THE  FLY. 

line  fairly  swished  as  lie  tore  up  stream ;  above  him 
lay  the  limb  of  a  tree,  scraggy  and  ragged ;  toward 
this  he  plunged,  but  the  line  tightened  on  him  ;  he 
tugged  and  jerked,  bui;  gained  not  an  inch ;  he  came  to 
the  surface  and  thrashed  the  water  with  his  broad  tail. 
Fatal  error !  as  he  did  so  the  line  came  in  as  fast  as 
fingers  could  fly  round,  the  landing  net  was  slipped 
under  him,  a  quick  upward  movement  and  Master 
Salmo  was  flung  high  and  dry.  He  was  too  big  for 
the  net  and  so  was  ignominiously  flung  ashore. 

What  a  noble  trout !  His  silver  sides  and  belly 
gleamed  in  the  light,  his  blood-red  spots  seemed  to  glow 
with  indignation  at  his  cruel  death.  He  had  long  been 
a  lordling  over  the  other  trout  and  now  was  strangling  ! 
Kill  him  !  I  cannot  bear  to  see  a  trout  gasping.  Killed 
and  scaled  he  weighs  three  and  a  half  pounds.  A  credit 
to  the  angler  :  but  at  times,  daring  the  contest,  it  was  a 
question  to  which  the  honor  belonged  ;  it  was:  "  Splen- 
did rod  !"  ''Ah  !  how  skilfully  he  handles  his  fish." 
*'  "Who  would  have  dreamt  that  little  thing  would  have 
stood  such  a  strain  ?  " 

Gentle  angler,  let  us  leave  our  friend  to  the  contem- 
plation of  the  beauties  of  the  fairest  of  all  England's 
garden  landscapes,  and  the  preserved  trout  streams, 
and  plunge  with  me  into  an  American  forest. 

By  a  beautiful  lake  in  the  famous  State  of  Michigan 
a  little  settlement  is  springing  up.  Over  in  that  bay 
is  a  trout  creek  emptying ;  it  is  full  of  trout — trout 
galore — trout  by  the  hundreds  can  be  seen.  Come  with 


THE  ANGLEWS  GREETING.  139 

me,  I  will  show  them  to  you.  Let  me  drop  a  fly 
into  this  hole.  Ah  !  there  he  is  !  see  him  dash  for  it. 
He  won't  come  again,  let  us  push  along. 

Push  along,  you  say  ?  do  you  expect  I  am  coming 
through  that  brush  ?  Not  much  ;  I  am  not  a  crank. 
If  you  are  so  fond  of  trying  to  break  your  neck  for  a 
string  of  trout,  why  go.  I  go  !  am  quite  willing  to 
be  alone  on  this  lovely  little  creek,  for  it  contains  some, 
of  the  handsomest  trout  it  has  ever  been  my  good  luck 
to  kill.  Here  and  there  I  drop  in  a  fly  ;  sometimes  a 
"  Yellow  May,"  sometimes  a  "  Professor,"  sometimes  a 
"  Stone-fly  "  ;  once  in  a  while  an  "  Ibis  "  is  fancied  by 
some  fastidious  trout.  Now  and  then  a  ' 'Floating 
May-fly  "  seems  a  favorite.  Where  the  brush  overhangs 
and  is  a  darksome,  lonely  spot,  I  drop  in  a  ''  Eoyal 
Coachman,"  and  out  comes  a  big  trout  lusty  and  fight- 
ing ;  sometimes  fancy  flies  are  spurned  and  hackles  of 
all  colors  kill ;  then  a  fly  composed  of  alternate  feath- 
ers, red  and  white,  of  no  name,  but  a  favorite  with 
the  writer,  will  kill  when  trout  will  not  take  any  other 

fly. 

I  am  enjoying  the  fun,  and  the  creel  is  getting 
heavy.  Half  a  mile  of  fishing  and  twenty-five  hand- 
some trout  is  doing  good  enough  for  mid-day  fishing. 

As  the  evening  falls  I  take  my  split  bamboo  and  the 
fly-book,  pull  on  the  wading  boots,  and  go  down  to  the 
mouth  of  the  creek,  wading  out  until  I  am  as  far  as  the 
sand  runs.  I  cast  out  more  for  practice  than  to  expect 
trout.     I  have  on  a  big  bass-fly  large  enough  for  a  sal- 


140  FISHING  WITH  THE  FLY. 

mon-fly.  As  it  strikes  the  water  twenty-five  feet  from 
me  there  is  a  commotion.  '^  Ye  gods  and  little  fishes  ! " 
What  was  the  fuss  ?  I  cast  again,  and  as  true  as  I  am 
here  if  a  number  of  trout  did  not  jump  clear  out  for  that 
fly,  big  as  it  was  !  Hastily  reeling  in  I  put  on  a  dun- 
colored  fly,  and  cast  again ;  the  same  jump  and  dash, 
but  no  trout.  Changing  my  flies  until  at  last  I  put  on 
as  a  stretcher  a  '^  White  Miller,"  I  flung  out  clear  be- 
yond any  former  cast  into  the  midst  of  what  appeared 
like  a  boiling  spring.  The  fly  dropped  softly  and  out 
came  a  host  of  trout.  School  kept  just  then,  for  I  cer- 
tainly had  struck  a  school  of  trout.  Striking,  I  fast- 
ened into  a  fine  fish  ;  reeling  in,  I  dried  my  fly  and  cast 
again  and  hooked  again.  The  fun  grew  fast  and  furious  ; 
my  little  bamboo  swished  and  bent ;  hooks  were  snipped 
off ;  I  was  excited  and  jubilant,  when  along  came  an 
itinerant  parson.  The  twenty-five  or  thirty  trout  I 
had,  set  him  longing;  he  must  fish.  Jerking  off  his 
boots,  pulling  up  his  pants,  he  waded  into  the  icy  cold 
water  equipped  with  a  stick  cut  from  the  forest.  He 
had  nosed  out  a  line  and  some  hooks  from  a  supply  I 
had  left  on  the  bank  in  my  fishing-case,  and  without  so 
much  as  "by  your  leave  "  began  threshing  the  water  as 
close  to  the  school  as  he  could  get  his  line ;  this  was 
baited  with  a  piece  of  dead  fish.  To  say  that  I  was  dis- 
gusted faintly  expresses  my  feeling.  I  would  have 
ceased  fishing,  but  my  friend  with  whom  I  was  stay- 
ing said,  "N"o,  don't  stop  while  sport  is  so  good." 
I  put  on  a  "  Royal  Coachman  "  and  cast  out  again. 


THE  ANGLERS  GREETING.  141 

hooking  and  bringing  out  trout  every  second  or  third 
cast.  I  began  casting  wide,  the  school  followed  my 
flies.  I  tried  the  "Professor's/'  "Dun's,"  "Hackle's," 
"  Seth  Green,"  "  Governor,"  and  "  May-flies,"  with 
good  success.  With  one  pure  "  Yellow  May  "  I  caught 
a  dozen  handsome  trout,  but  in  this  event  the  even- 
ing shadows  were  fast  falling.  As  they  deepened,  the 
"Eoyal  Coachman  "and  "White  Millers"  were  the 
killing  flies.  I  cast  until  I  could  not  see  where  my 
flies  fell,  and  even  then  once  in  a  while  hooked  and 
brought  in  a  trout. 

I  had  been  thoughtless  enough  to  leave  my  creel  up 
in  the  house,  never  expecting  to  have  this  run  of  good 
luck.  All  my  trout  were  taken  from  the  hook  and 
thrown  twenty-five  feet  to  shore.  I  lost  many  of  them 
in  this  way.  Thirty  my  friends  claimed,  yet  when  I 
came  to  count  tails,  I  found  forty  as  handsome  trout  as 
ever  man  wished  to  see,  and  all  caught  from  6  in  the 
evening  until  dark,  about  7.45.  I  had  no  net,  no  creel, 
therefore  had  to  lead  my  trout  into  my  hand.  The 
friend  at  whose  house  I  was  staying  claims  I  lost  more 
than  I  caught  by  having  them  flounder  off  the  hook 
while  trying  to  take  them  by  the  gills,  and  by  flinging 
them  ashore. 

I  have  used  flies  on  this  creek  many  times,  but  never 
had  such  luck  before  nor  since.  My  experience  has 
been  that  the  fine  fancy  flies  of  the  eastern  streams  are 
useless  on  these  Michigan  streams  ;  the  nearer  the  flies 
approach  to  a  species  of  small  moth  found   flitting 


TROUT     FLIES. 


Made  by  C.F.ORYIS.  Manchester, Vt. 


CO  PYR  le  HTED 


"  In  using  the  fly  the  object  is  to  imitate  the  movements  of  the 
natural  insect  as  nearly  as  possible.  To  drop  the  line  naturally 
on  the  water,  and  then  to  keep  the  fly  endued  with  life,  is  the 
stratagem.  From  the  moment  the  fly  touches  the  water  the 
angler  should  keep  his  eye  on  it.  Trout  often  feed  a  little  under 
the  surface  ;  they  do  not  always  break  when  they  rise,  but  quietly 
suck  in  the  fly." — Charles  Hallock. 

*' '  An  angler,  sir,  uses  the  finest  tackle,  and  catches  his  fish 
scientifically— trout,  for  instance — with  the  artificial  fly,  and  he  is 
mostly  a  quiet,  well-behaved  gentleman.  A  fisherman,  sir,  uses 
any  kind  of  'ooks  and  lines,  and  catches  them  any  way  ;  so  he 
gets  them  it's  all  one  to  'im,  and  he  is  generally  a  noisy  fellah, 
sir,  something  like  a  gunner.'  " — Doctor  Bethune. 


i6. 
19. 
22. 

25- 
28. 


Silver  Black. 
White  Miller. 
Grizzly  King. 
Chantry. 
Pale  Evening 
Dun. 


17- 
20. 

23- 
26. 
29. 


Scarlet  Ibis. 
Fiery  Brown. 
Imbrie. 
Portland. 
Great  Dun. 


18. 

21. 
24. 
27. 
30. 


Stone  Fly. 
Yellow  Drake. 
Soldier  Palmer. 
Ethel  May. 
Whimbrel. 


'*  Be  stil'  moving  your  fly  upon  the  water,  or  casting  it  into  the 
water  ;  you  yourself,  being  also  alwaies  moving  down  the  stream." 
— Izaak  Walton. 

"  When  once  alarmed,  trout  will  never  bite." — Seth  Qreen. 


**  Fly-fishers  are  usually  brain- workers  in  society.  Along  the 
banks  of  purling  streams,  beneath  the  shadows  of  umbrageous 
trees,  or  in  the  secluded  nooks  of  charming  lakes,  they  have  ever 
been  found,  drinking  deep  of  the  invigorating  forces  of  nature — 
giving  rest  and  tone  to  over-taxed  brains  and  wearied  nerves — 
while  gracefully  wielding  the  supple  rod,  the  invisible  leader,  and 
the  fairy-like  fly." — James  A.  Eenahall,  M.D. 


"  It  is  generally  true  that  if  a  trout  is  pricked  by  a  fly-hook  he 
will  not  rise  to  it  again." — W.  G.  Prime, 

'•  Christopher  North. — Would  you  believe  it,  my  dear  Shep- 
herd, that  my  piscatory  passions  are  almost  dead  within  me  ;  and 
I  like  now  to  saunter  along  the  banks  and  braes,  eyeing  the 
younkers  angling,  or  to  lay  me  down  on  some  sunny  spot,  and 
with  my  face  up  to  heaven,  watch  the  slow  changing  clouds  I " 

"Shepherd. — I'll  no  believe  that,  sir,  till  I  see  't — and  scarcely 
then — for  a  bluidier- minded  fisher  nor  Christopher  North  never 
threw  a  hackle.  Your  creel  fu' — your  shootin'-bag  fu' — your 
Jacket-pouches  fu',  the  pouches  o'  your  verra  breeks  fu' — half-a- 
dozen  wee  anes  in  your  waistcoat,  no'  to  forget  thein  in  the  croon 
o'  your  hat, — and,  last  o'  a',  when  there's  nae  place  to  stow  awa 
ony  mair  o'  them,  a  willow- wand  drawn  through  the  gills  of 
some  great  big  anes,  like  them  ither  folk  would  grup  wi'  the  worm 
or  themennon— buta'  gruppit  wi'  the  flee— Phin's  delight,  as  you 
ca't, — a  killen  inseck — and  on  gut  that's  no  easily  broken — wit- 
ness yon  four  pounder  aneath  Elibank  wood,  where  your  line,  sir, 
got  entangled  wi'  the  auld  oak-root,  and  yet  at  last  ye  landed 
him  on  the  bank,  wi'  a'  his  crosses  and  his  stars  glitterin'  like  gold 
and  silver  amang  the  gravel !  I  confess,  sir,  you're  the  King  o' 
Anglers.  But  dinna  tell  me  that  you  have  lost  your  passion  for 
the  art ;  for  we  never  lose  our  passion  for  ony  pastime  at  which 
we  contiDue  to  excel." 

*'  The  fisherman  has  a  harmless,  preoccupied  look  ;  he  is  a  kind 
of  vagrant,  that  nothing  fears.  He  blends  himself  with  the  trees 
and  the  shadows.  All  his  approaches  are  gentle  and  indirect. 
He  times  himself  to  the  meandering,  soliloquizing  stream ; 
he  addresses  himself  to  it  as  a  lover  to  his  mistress  ;  he  wooes 
it  and  stays  with  it  till  he  knows  its  hidden  secrets.  Where  it 
deepens  his  purpose  deepens  ;  where  it  is  shallow  he  is  indif- 
ferent. He  knows  how  to  interpret  its  every  glance  and  dimple  ; 
its  beauty  haunts  him  for  days. " — John  Burroughs. 


THE   LUEE. 

BY 

"BOURGEOIS." 


Among  the  delightful  summer  resorts  of  Colorado 
Estes  Park  may  be  justly  considered  one  of  the  most 
attractive.  It  is  now  easy  of  access.  Seven  years  ago 
it  began  to  be  frequented,  the  trail  having  given  way  to 
the  wagon  road.  Before  the  days  of  easy  ingress,  I  had 
cast  my  lures  upon  the  waters  of  the  Thompson  and  Fall 
Eiver,  with  gratifying  success. 

In  the  summer  of  1875,  the  Governor,  the  Governor's 
mother,  and  myself,  determined  upon  Estes  Park  for  a 
six  weeks'  vacation.  With  this  end  in  view,  in  the 
latter  part  of  July,  I  sent  off  the  team  loaded  with  the 
camp  outfit. 

Two  days  after  we  took  the  morning  train  for  Long- 
mont,  on  the  Colorado  Central,  and  had  an  early  lunch 
at  the  tail  end  of  the  wagon  just  outside  the  town.  Be- 
fore noon  we  were  on  the  fifteen-mile  drive  into  the 
caflon  of  the  St.  Vrain,  for  camp. 

By  sunrise  the  following  morning  we  had  started, 
with  twenty  miles  to  make  over  a  new  road  part  of  the 
way,  and  no  road  at  all  in  places,  and  the  places  were 
many.     However,  we  had  to  hitch  on  to  the  end  of  the 


146  FISHING  WITH  THE  FLY, 

tongue  but  once,  to  snake  the  wagon  over  an  otherwise 
impassable  boulder.  The  rock  stood  a  foot  out  of 
ground,  stretched  entirely  across  where  the  road  was  to 
be,  and  at  an  angle  of  45°.  The  team  could  barely  get  a 
foothold  upon  the  top,  when  the  traces  were  let  out  full, 
and  the  double-tree  hooked  on  the  end  of  the  tongue. 
The  horses  understood  their  business,  and  upon  a  word 
settled  their  shoulders  into  the  collars  together,  the 
breeching  gradually  lifted  as  their  knees  bent  a  little  ; 
without  a  slip  their  iron-shod  hoofs  held  to  the  hard 
granite,  and  we  were  up  as  deftly  as  a  Prench  dancing 
master  would  raise  his  hat  to  a  lady.  In  travelling  in 
the  hills  there  is  nothing  so  gratifying  as  a  team  whose 
pulling  powers  you  can  swear  by ;  a  balky  horse  is  an 
engine  of  destruction  or  death  ;  if  you  know  his  fail- 
ing, shoot  him  before  you  reach  the  foothills. 

As  the  sun  dropped  behind  the  range,  lighting  up 
the  high  peaks  with  his  golden  rays,  and  the  pines  were 
beginning  to  take  on  tints  of  darker  green,  we  reached 
the  head  of  the  Park,  and  within  three  miles  of  our 
camping  ground.  To  the  right  of  us  "  Olympus,"  with 
the  dying  sunlight  dancing  on  his  granite  head,  to  the 
left  Long's  Peak,  with  patches  of  snow  here  and  there, 
towering  godlike  above  the  surrounding  giants.  Be- 
fore us.  Prospect  Mountain  with  its  rugged  front  far 
reaching  above  its  robes  of  green,  while  around  its  base 
and  toward  us  came  leaping  the  beautiful  mountain 
stream  for  two  miles  through  the  meadow-hued  park, 
with  scarce  a  willow  upon  its  banks.     What  a  place  to 


TEE  LURE,  147 

cast  a  fly  !  Aye,  indeed  it  is  ;  and  what  a  place  it  was 
to  catch  trout.  But  we  must  move  on  around  Prospect 
Mountain  to  Ferguson's  for  camp,  which  we  make  on  a 
little  eminence  near  a  great  spring  and  close  by  the 
cabin  where  we  know  we  shall  be  welcome. 

A  late  supper  disposed  of,  and  the  Governor  stowed 
away  in  the  blankets,  Ferguson  and  I  fall  talking  at 
his  broad  fire-place  about  Horse  Shoe  Park  and  Fall 
River  ;  of  course  trout  are  plenty  there  ;  he  had  been 
up  the  day  before  and  knew  whereof  he  spoke ;  yes, 
there  were  quite  a  number  of  tourists  in  the  park,  but 
the  streams  were  not  "fished  out."  He  rather  thought 
that  with  "  a  pole  "  to  every  rod  of  the  stream  the  fish- 
ing improved  ;  at  least  for  him. 

Our  genial  friend  who  obeyed  Joshua  in  the  long  ago, 
was  out  of  bed  next  day  sooner  than  I.  Dick,  the  pony, 
gave  me  a  cheerful  good  morning  as  I  put  in  an  appear- 
ance and  changed  his  picket  pin.  I  received  his  salu- 
tation as  a  good  omen. 

Breakfast  over  and  Dick  saddled,  it  was  eight  o'clock. 
We  had  five  miles  to  go.  I  strapped  my  rod  and  creel 
to  the  pommel,  and  with  a  caution  to  the  Governor's 
mother  not  to  let  him  fall  into  the  spring,  Ferguson 
and  I  were  off.  There  was  no  occasion  to  hurry  ;  if  we 
reached  the  beaver-dams  in  Horse  Shoe  Park  by  ten 
o'clock  we  would  be  Just  in  time.  Experience  had 
taught  me  that  the  two  hours  before  noon,  and  after 
five  o'clock  were  the  hours  for  success. 

Our  route  was  a  "  cut  off  "  without  any  trail,  but 


148  FISHING  WITH  THE  FLY. 

familiar;  across  the  Thompson,  up  stream,  westward  for 
a  mile,  we  turned  up  a  "  draw  "  to  the  right,  for  a  swale 
in  the  ridge  dividing  the  Thompson  and  its  tributary. 
Fall  River.  By  nine  o'clock  we  had  reached  the  sum- 
mit of  the  divide.  Before  and  below  us  lay  a  beautiful 
park,  three  miles  in  length,  by  a  mile  in  width  toward 
its  upper  end,  where  it  rounded  at  the  base  of  the 
mountain  range,  giving  it  the  shape  of  a  horse  shoe, 
which  no  doubt  suggested  its  name.  To  the  north  it 
is  guarded  by  an  immense  mountain  of  rocks,  where 
towering  and  impenetrable  cliffs  stand  out  against  the 
background  of  blue  sky,  as  though  the  Titans  had  some 
time  builded  there,  and  mother  earth  had  turned  their 
castles  into  ruins,  and  left  them  as  monuments  of  her 
power.  To  the  south  a  long,  low-lying,  pine-covered 
hill,  while  from  the  range  in  the  west  with  its  snow 
covered  summit  and  base  of  soft  verdure,  comes  a  limpid 
stream  winding  down  through  the  grass-covered  park, 
its  course  marked  by  the  deeper  green  of  the  wild  grass 
and  the  willows.  A  mile  away  a  band  of  mountain 
sheep  are  feeding ;  they  have  evidently  been  down  to 
water  and  are  making  their  way  back  to  their  haunts 
in  the  cliffs,  and  whence  we  know  they  will  quickly 
scud  when  they  see  or  wind  us.  Ferguson  longed  for 
his  rifle  ;  it  was  just  his  luck  ;  he  had  the  ''old  girl  " 
with  him  the  last  time,  but  "  nary  hoof  "  had  he  seen. 
To  me  they  were  precious  hints  of  man's  absence,  and 
the  wilderness. 

Reaching  the  stream  we  picketed  the  ponies  in  the 


THE  LUBE.  149 

grass  to  their  knees  ;  the  nutritious  mountain  grass, 
the  mother  of  cream  so  thick  that  you  haye  to  dip  it 
out  of  the  jug  with  a  spoon.  The  ponies  were  happy, 
and  I  became  nervous  ;  it  seemed  half  an  hour  before 
I  could  get  my  tackle  rigged.  But  after  I  had  sent  my 
favorite  gray  hackle  on  its  mission  and  had  snatched 
a  ten-inch  trout  from  his  native  element,  my  nerves 
were  braced.  A  second  and  a  third  followed ;  I  heard 
nothing  from  Ferguson  except  the  "  swish  "  of  his  old 
cane  pole  above  the  music  of  the  waters.  The  trout 
struck  and  I  landed  them  so  fast  that  the  sport  began 
to  be  monotonous,  and  I  followed  up  the  sound  of  the 
cane.  Going  round  a  clump  of  willows  I  discovered  the 
old  gentleman  upon  the  edge  of  the  pool,  and  that  old 
rod  going  up  and  down  with  the  regularity  of  a  trip 
hammer,  the  owner  combining  business  and  sport.  I 
asked  him  what  he  was  doing ;  he  said  he  was  fishing, 
and  I  thought  he  was. 

Wandering  up  stream,  taking  it  leisurely,  I  had  by 
noon  filled  my  creel,  and  was  enjoying  a  sandwich 
under  the  shelter  of  some  willows,  when  my  companion 
came  along  with  his  sixteen  pound  lard-can  filled,  be- 
sides a  dozen  upon  a  stick.  I  asked  him  when  he  in- 
tended to  quit.  He  said  he  had  never  seen  fish  "bite" 
so ;  he  hated  to  stop,  and  yet  had  all  he  could  carry, 
but  concluded  with  me  that  enough  was  as  good  as  a 
feast.  Then  he  began  to  banter  me  about  my  ash  and 
lancewood,  and  the  excess  of  his  catch  over  mine.  I 
told  him  to  wait  till  some  other  day.     It  came  in  the 


150  FISHINQ  WITH  THE  FLT. 

course  of  time,  upon  the  same  stream.  The  trout  re- 
fused everything  I  had,  grasshoppers  included.  Finally 
I  fished  up  an  old  fly-book  from  the  depths  of  my  coat 
pocket,  and  in  it  were  half  a  dozen  nameless  blue-bodied 
flies  with  a  mouse-colored  feather  upon  a  number  six 
Kirby.  Upon  sight,  I  remembered  to  have  .discarded 
them  in  disgust,  but  I  thought  I  would  try  one  for  luck, 
and  lo  !  the  mystery  was  solved.  I  had  been  working 
industriously  for  two  hours  and  had  two  trout.  Fergu- 
son had  been  no  more  successful,  but  was  in  sight  when 
the  trout  began  to  rise  to  my  cast-off  fly.  He  came 
down  my  way,  wanted  to  know  what  I  was  using, 
and  I  gave  him  one  ;  he  lost  that  and  his  leader  in  some 
half-sunken  brush,  and  I  gave  him  another.  But  his 
good  genius  had  deserted  him  ;  I  persuaded  a  trout 
right  away  from  his  lure,  and  he  quit  in  disgust,  while 
I  said  never  a  word.  Though  a  little  sensitive  upon  the 
score  of  success,  he  was  and  is  a  genial  and  companion- 
able angler,  and  one  who  can  make  a  good  cast  withal, 
an  he  have  proper  tools. 

Willow  Park,  an  adjunct  to  Estes  Park,  through 
which  runs  a  branch  of  the  Thompson,  has  afforded  me 
many  a  day's  sport,  and  is  nearer  to  camp.  Upon  a 
memorable  occasion  I  had  been  fishing  down  stream, 
when,  with  a  well-filled  creel,  I  encountered  a  gigantic 
boulder  on  the  bank.  Just  beyond  it  was  a  pool  that 
was  suggestive  ;  to  reach  the  base  of  the  boulder  it  was 
necessary  to  get  over  a  little  bayou  of  about  five  feet  in 
width  and  three  in  depth.     To  jump  it  were  easy  but 


TEE  LURE.  151 

for  the  willows,  yet  I  must  get  to  that  pool.  Selecting 
a  place  where  I  think  the  willows  will  give  way  to  my 
weight,  I  essay  the  leap.  My  feet  reach  the  opposite 
bank,  my  body  presses  back  the  brush,  but  I  feel  a  re- 
bound that  assures  me  of  my  fate.  I  clutch  frantically 
at  the  swaying  bush  ;  it  breaks  in  my  hand,  and  I  sit 
down  quite  helplessly,  muttering  a  prayer  till  the  cold 
water  bids  me  shut  my  mouth.  Emerging  I  hear  a  well 
defined  laugh,  but  not  being  in  the  mind  to  fear  the 
spirits  that  haunt  these  wilds,  I  make  for  the  base  of 
that  boulder  and  the  coyeted  pool.  A  moment  after  I 
discover  a  face  bedecked  with  glasses  upon  the  oppo- 
site side  of  the  brook,  and  recognize  the  smiling  coun- 
tenance of  a  genial  member  of  the  guild  looking  at  me 
through  the  willows. 

'^Oh,  is  that  you  ?" 

To  this  lucid  inquiry  I  reply  in  the  aflBrmative. 

"Where's  Ferguson  ?" 

"At  home,  I  suppose." 

"  I  thought  I  heard  him  fall  in  the  creek." 

I  told  him  I  did  not  think  Ferguson  had  a  monopoly 
of  the  bathing  privileges  of  the  Thompson  and  its 
tributaries. 

"  Well,  I  thought  it  was  funny." 

"  Thought  what  was  funny  ?  " 

"  Why,  I  heard  the  splash,  and  supposed  it  was  Fer- 
guson ;  then  I  remembered  Ferguson  was  a  church 
member  in  good  standing." 

I  took  my  revenge  by  competing  with  my  brother  for 


152  FISHING  WITH  THE  FLY, 

the  contents  of  that  pool,  and  beat  him  by  one.  Bnt  to 
this  day  he  greets  me  with  a  smile.  When  I  got  back 
to  camp  I  learned  that  the  Governor  had  been  trying  to 
follow  in  the  footsteps  of  his  father,  and  had  tum- 
bled into  the  spring.  He  had  been  fished  out  by  the 
combined  efforts  of  his  mother  and  Mrs.  Ferguson,  and 
I  discoYcred  him  swathed  in  a  blanket  by  the  kitchen 
stove,  mad  as  a  hornet ;  I  shook  hands  with  him. 

Our  camp  is  pitched  in  a  pleasant  spot,  with  two  tall 
pines,  a  hundred  feet  away,  for  sentinels.  Coup  de 
soleil  is  unknown  in  Colorado,  so  I  prefer  the  sun's  rays 
to  lightning,  especially  while  trees  seared  from  top  to 
bottom  are  plentiful  in  the  Park  as  monitors.  To  the 
right  is  Prospect  Mountain,  with  its  west  end  a  beetling 
cliff,  perhaps  two  thousand  feet  high,  where  I  once  had 
the  buck-ague  during  an  interview  with  a  "  big-horn." 
To  the  left  and  in  front,  the  range,  where  the  storm- 
king  holds  high  carnival,  while  lower  down  and  nearer 
is  a  mountain  of  towers  and  pinnacles  of  brown  and 
red  and  gray,  carved  out  by  that  whimsical  sculptor. 
Old  Time.  With  the  sun  for  my  artist,  the  range  for 
both  his  easel  and  background,  I  have  lounged  away 
many  an  hour  under  one  of  the  old  pines.  My  gaze 
wandering  down  the  green  slope  to  the  river  half  a  mile 
away,  and  with  the  weird  music  of  the  tumbling  waters 
coming  and  receding  on  the  summer  breeze  to  help  my 
dreams,  we  have  together  wrought  out  fantastic  ruins 
and  ghostly  shapes  to  people  them.  A  drifting  cloud, 
perhaps,  will  change  a  barbacan  to  a  spire,  and  a  Doric 


THE  LURE.  153 

capital  to  a  Corinthian,  or  the  knight  panoplied  to  a 
brownie  with  a  lily  for  a  throne,  and 

** jolly  satyrs,  full  of  fresh  delight, 

Come  dancing  forth,  and  with  them  nimbly  ledd 
Faire  Helenore,  with  girlonds  all  bespredd. 
Whom  their  May-lady  they  had  newly  made;  " 

to  give  place  again,  as  the  golden  meshes  weave,  to 
cowled  monks  or  ladies  fair,  as  suits  the  whim  of  the 
artist's  patron.  Again,  the  goblins  of  the  range  begin 
their  game  of  nine-pins,  and  the  fleecy  clouds  that  have 
been  slowly  drifting,  drifting  all  the  day,  settle  down 
upon  the  mountain  top  and  change  from  white  to  gray 
and  from  gray  to  black  as  the  sport  grows  furious. 
Something  these  elves  must  have  to  light  up  their 
frolic,  and  presently  it  comes  in  great  flashes  of  wicked 
steel-blue  and  red,  zigzaging  down  the  mountain  side, 
or  in  straight  blinding  bolts  that  rive  paths  in  the  hard 
granite,  scattering  the  loose  rock  and  shivering  the 
pines,  while  the  noise  of  the  jolly  nine-pins  rattles  and 
re-echoes  among  the  crags,  and  dies  away  to  come  again 
more  quickly,  until  the  mountain-top  is  a  sheet  of  lurid 
flame  and  the  din  unceasing,  so  closely  follows  peal 
upon  peal.  The  game  is  too  violent  to  last,  but  the 
gnomes  love  to  hug  the  range  in  their  pastime,  and 
I,  understanding  the  signs,  and  having  no  fear  of  their 
electric  lights,  watch  the  fast  growing  rift  of  azure  that 
crowds  hard  upon  the  driving  blackness.  At  last  the 
mellow  rays  touch  up  my  mountain  ruins,  and  they 


154  FISHING  WITH  THE  FLT. 

are  arrayed  in  new  splendors  and  peopled  with  other 
phantoms. 

So  I  have  dreamed,  and  might  go  on  dreaming, but  this 
time  I  am  brought  back  to  the  green  slope  and  a  little 
figure.  The  Governor  is  toiling  up  the  trail  with  a  quart 
bucket,  his  special  chattel,  from  the  spring,  whence  he 
volunteered  to  bring  a  drink  for  his  mother.  I  can  see 
no  impediment  in  his  path,  yet  he  stumbles  and  falls. 
Would  I  had  been  there  to  warn  him  ;  but  the  water  is 
spilled.  He  does  not  cry,  but  gathers  himself  and  his 
property  up,  and  goes  back  to  begin  his  task  over  again. 
Just  then  there  came  to  me  pat,  an  aphorism,  I  think, 
of  '^  Poor  Goldsmith"  :  '^True  greatness  consists  not 
in  never  falling,  but  in  rising  every  time  we  fall ; "  and 
I  took  it  as  an  omen  of  good  for  the  boy. 

The  time  is  approaching  when  we  must  break  camp 
and  go  back  to  the  brick  and  mortar  and  the  realities 
of  civilization.  Duties  to  be  performed  will  be  under- 
taken with  better  zest  when  I  get  to  them,  but  I  cast 
lingering  looks  toward  my  mountain  ruins  as  the  day 
of  departure  draws  nigh.  I  even  have  a  thought  that 
it  would  be  pleasant  to  rela^Dse  into  barbarism,  if  out  of 
such  as  mine  our  civilization  has  grown — we  might 
build  up  a  better.  As  this  may  not  be,  I  am  encour- 
aged by  the  thought  that  another  season  will  come,  and 
with  hope  in  my  heart  I  am  better  prepared  for  the 
work  awaiting  me.  I  know  that  I  shall  go  back  with 
a  fresher  feeling  for  my  kind,  and  more  charity.  So 
when  one  September  morning,  after  a  day  of  gray  mist 


THE  LURE,  155 

hanging  over  the  range,  the  wind  comes  down  chill 
from  the  heights,  and  the  morning  sun  lights  up  my 
castles  and  pinnacles  in  diadems  of  new-fallen  snow, 
I  say  we  must  be  off.  We  gather  together  our  lares  of 
nomadic  life,  and  with  a  regretful  farewell  to  those  I 
cannot  bring  away,  we  make  the  journey  home,  a  better 
man  and  woman,  with  a  nut-brown,  healthy  boy,  for 
much  of  which  I  give  credit  to  the  artificial  fly,  and 
the  beautiful  denizens  of  the  mountain  streams. 


**  Fishing  for  lake  trout  is  about  as  much  sport  as  dredging  for 
oysters,  and  boat-fishing  for  brook  trout  is  merely  a  refinement  of 
sitting  on  the  corner  of  the  dock  and  bobbing  for  eels.  In  wad- 
ing a  stream  all  the  muscles  are  called  into  play  and  the  mind  is 
strung  so  tightly  with  anticipation  of  a  rise,  new  views  and  sur- 
prises, care  where  the  feet  are  planted,  and  watchfulness  that  the 
bushes  do  not  capture  the  flies,  that  there  is  a  sense  of  generalship 
in  steering  clear  of  all  dangers  and  in  capturing  your  game." — 
Fred  Mather. 

"  The  true  angler  touches  no  net,  but  that  with  which  he  lands 
the  heavy  struggler  hung  on  his  tiny  hair."— (r.  W.  Bethune,  D.D. 

"The  Western  trout  takes  the  fly  well,  but  not  so  greedily  as 
the  Eastern  fish.  The  reason  is,  that  they  are  from  early  spring 
gorged  with  food  in  the  myriads  of  young  grasshoppers  that  fall 
into  the  streams  before  getting  their  wings.  The  best  months  for 
trout  fishing  in  the  Rocky  Mountains  are  August  and  September, 
although  good  sport  may  be  had  in  July  and  October." — lAeut.- 
Col.  R.  I.  Dodge,  U.  8.  A. 

*'  If  you  eat  your  kind,  I  will  eat  you." — Benjamin  FranTdin, 

"What  may  appear  the  right  color  when  looking  down  upon 
'i        the  fly,  may  be  found  quite  wrong  when  viewing  it  between  the 
eye  and  the  light — the  way  in  which  fish  must,  from  their  position 
beneath  the  object,  always  see  it." — Hewett  Wheatley. 

"Although  I  am  a  great  advocate  for  the  system  of  matching 
your  artificial  flies  with  the  natural  ones  upon  the  water  at  the 
time  of  fishing,  still  I  am  of  the  opinion  that  an  unnecessary 
number  of  patterns  only  confuses  the  tyro." — Francis  M.  Walbran. 

"  Light  is  light.  And  by  its  aid  all  animated  beings  Bee,  and  in 
its  absence  all  alike  are  blind.  The  laws  of  nature  operate  equally 
and  invariably  both  above  and  below  the  surface  of  the  water, 
and,  until  it  is  demonstrated  to  be  otherwise,  I  cannot  think  trout 
see  in  any  different  manner,  or  by  any  different  means,  than  do 
we.  There  may  be  a  difference  in  degree,  but  I  cannot  believe 
in  kind." — Henry  P.  Wells. 


FLY  FISHING  IN   THE  YOSEMITE. 


BY 
A.  LOUIS  MINER,  JR. 


A  MERRY  party  had  come  for  a  holiday  to  the  Yosem- 
ite,  and  their  camp  was  established  between  the  north 
and  south  domes  near  the  forks  of  the  Merced.  To- 
ward the  east  the  Tenajo  Caiion  opened,  revealing 
through  its  vista  of  granite  crags  the  highest  peak  of 
'^Clouds'  Kest,"  crowned  with  eternal  snows.  West- 
ward, the  Sentinel  Eock,  like  a  minaret  among  the 
domes,  pierced  the  sky. 

There  were  seven  in  the  party,  including  a  heathen 
from  the  flowery  kingdom,  almond-eyed — Ah  Yang. 
His  nominal  function  was  to  do  as  he  was  bid,  and  serve 
as  man  of  all  work,  but  in  reality  he  ruled  ;  and  ruled 
with  a  rod  of  iron.  Yang  had  been  induced  to  come 
by  motives  purely  sordid  ;  but  the  others,  aside  from' 
seeing  the  wondrous  valley,  had  various  reasons  for 
making  the  journey. 

The  Judge  came  for  relaxation.  He  needed  it.  For 
the  last  dozen  years  he  had  devoted  himself  to  reading 
th6  morning  papers,  lunching  at  his  club,  and  enter- 
taining his  friends  sumptuously  at  dinner. 

His  wife,  who,  in  the  levelling  atmosphere  of  camp, 


158  FISHING  WITH  THE  FLY, 

came  to  be  styled  the  Judgess,  imagined  herself  on  the 
Yerge  of  a  decline,  and  sought  recuperation  in  the 
forest.  If  the  Judgess  were  described  as  fat  and  forty, 
omitting  the  fair,  the  description  would  fall  far  short 
of  truth.  In  spite  of  her  ailments,  the  Judgess  would 
have  enjoyed  herself  in  a  way,  had  it  not  been  for  the 
young  woman  she  was  chaperoning.  This  was  Madge. 
Certain  young  men  in  San  Francisco  called  her  a  rattler, 
and  certainly  there  was  nothing  slow  about  her.  The 
chief  end  of  her  existence,  at  home  and  everywhere, 
seemed  to  be  the  pursuit  of  fun  ;  to  this  end  she  flirted 
with  anything  that  came  in  her  way,  from  stray  herds- 
men on  the  plains  to  an  English  baronet  at  a  Yosemite 
hotel.  When  nothing  else  was  at  hand,  and  to  the 
Judgess'  indignation,  she  flirted  with  the  Judge.  With 
charming  zest  she  played  continued  games  of  poker 
with  him  till  his  honor's  purse  was  far  thinner  than  its 
owner.  The  Judge's  admiration  for  Madge  was  pro- 
found, but  after  an  hour  at  cards,  he  would  usually  re- 
mark, "that  girl  has  the  deyil  in  her,  as  it  loere,  bigger 
than  a  wolf." 

It  is  said  that  all  men  have  a  ruling  passion.  Be  that 
as  it  may,  a  passion  certainly  ruled  a  worthy  clergyman 
of  the  company.  The  men  of  our  generation  affected 
with  beetle  mania  are  many,  but ,  his  Keverence  was 
absolutely  devoted  to  bugs.  The  Judgess,  a  zealot  to 
such  a  degree  that  Mary  of  England  was  but  lukewarm 
in  comparison,  said  that  his  Eeverence  valued  a  butter- 
fly more  than  a  human  soul ;  and  Madge  insisted  that. 


FLY  FISHING  IN  THE  YO SEMITE.  159 

while  he  pretended  to  read  his  office,  he  was  engaged 
in  dissecting  a  coleoptera  or  something. 

The  Doctor,  who  was  Madge's  unworthy  brother, 
had  come  with  the  avowed  intention  of  sketching.  All 
the  long  way  from  San  Francisco  he  had  been  at  work 
Avitli  brushes  and  blotting  paper.  Often  the  "prairie 
schooner,"  in  which  the  party  travelled,  had  "lain  to" 
while  the  Doctor  washed  in  patches  of  blue  and  white 
to  represent  cloud-effects,  or  a  jagged  gray  band  against 
streaks  of  orange,  portraying  sunrise  in  the  Sierras. 

The  last  member  of  the  party  without  professional 
distinction,  and  familiarly  called  "  Jack,"  had  also  a 
'penchant,  though  many  years  had  passed  since  it  had 
been  gratified.  When  they  had  left  the  San  Joaquin 
plain  and  its  sluggish  rivers  oozing  their  way  through 
mud  and  reeds,  and  had  climbed  into  the  mountain,  a 
halt  was  made  in  a  deep  canon.  Here  was  a  stream  in- 
deed. How  blithely  it  danced  along,  eager  to  find  the 
Golden  Gate  and  the  Pacific  !  How  it  sang  to  Jack  of 
fellow  streams  near  the  other  ocean  !  How  it  whispered 
of  trout  streams  ahead  !  Presently  a  long-cherished  fly 
book  was  produced  and  Jack  was  poring  over  it.  His 
Reverence,  attracted  by  the  little  volume,  looked  over 
Jack's  shoulder.  He  was  entranced.  A  volume  of  ec- 
clesiastical Latin  would  not  have  interested  him  half 
so  much.  He  began  to  criticise  and  expound.  Some 
were  perfect.  Some  were  caricatures  of  diptera.  The 
other  members  of  the  party  drew  around.  "  Pooh  !  " 
said  the  Doctor,  "  I  hope  you  don't  expect  to  catch  any 


160  FISHING  WITH  TUE  FLY. 

trout  with  those  things  in  Yosemite  !  Everybody  knows 
that  the  Merced  trout  don't  take  the  fly. "  The  Doctor 
went  on  to  say,  "  that  with  a  common  string,  such  as 
any  grocer  would  use  to  tie  up  a  package  of  tea,  a  good 
strong  hook,  and  a  worm,"  he  would  catch  in  the  same 
time,  more  fish  than  could  all  the  sportsmen  of  Califor- 
nia, fishing  with  fancy  flies. 

The  Doctor,  like  most  cynics,  was  somewhat  given  to 
hyperbole. 

During  the  remainder  of  the  journey  into  the  valley. 
Jack  felt  himself  regarded  as  the  victim  of  a  mild  halu- 
ci  nation. 

The  Doctor  could  sketch  ;  beetles  were  awaiting  his 
Eeverence's  microscope  ;  flirtation  and  frolic  were  dawn- 
ing on  Madge's  horizon  ;  even  the  Judge  and  Judgess 
could  get  rid  of  a  stone  or  two  avoirdupois  if  they  tried  ; 
but  poor  Jack  had  come,  it  appeared,  to  fish,  and  there 
were  no  fish  to  catch,  or  at  least  to  catch  with  a  fly. 
Such  was  the  tradition,  and  so  the  Doctor  had  asserted, 
and  no  one  ever  disputed  the  Doctor  excepting  Yang, 
the  Chinaman. 

Our  friends  had  been  revelling  in  the  enchantments 
of  the  valley  a  week ;  had  climbed  the  trails  that  crept 
zig-zag  up  the  dizzy  heights  ;  had  spent  hours  among 
the  soft  mist  and  rainbows  at  the  first  landing  of  that 
wonder  of  the  world,  the  Yosemite  Falls  ;  and  still  Jack 
had  not  accomplished  the  cherished  desire  of  his  heart. 
He  had  not  the  moral  courage  to  take  from  its  swad- 
dling clothes  his  beloved  rod  (which  the  Doctor  would 


\ 


FLY  Fisnma  in  the  yosemite.        161 

persist  in  calling  *^  your  fish-pole").  Never  had  he  so 
longed  to  cast  a  fly ;  but  he  thought  of  the  teasing 
Madge  and  waited.  At  best,  he  was  but  a  poor  male 
creature.  Madge,  in  his  place,  would  have  been  wliip- 
ping  the  stream,  with  defiance  and  determination,  an 
hour  after  her  arrival. 

His  Reverence  and  the  Doctor  had  arranged  to  ascend 
Clouds'  Rest  on  a  Thursday  and  return  next  day. 
Early  Thursday  morning,  before  Yang  or  the  birds 
were  stirring,  Jack  sauntered  forth  to  his  morning  bath 
in  the  icy  waters  of  the  river.  This  Rio  de  la  Merced, 
would  it  prove  to  him  indeed  a  river  of  mercy,  or  a 
river  of  humiliation?  But  what  a  glorious  stream  it 
was  !  Here  it  glided  through  wooded  banks,  the  oppo- 
site side  black  in  the  shadow  of  overhanging  manzanita, 
while  nearer  the  rippling  waters  were  checkered  with 
the  shadows  of  the  cotton -wood  leaves,  trembling  in 
the  growing  light.  Further  on,  the  river  whirled  and 
eddied  around  great  boulders,  resting  among  the  mossy 
rocks  in  deep,  dark  pools,  bordered  with  fern  and 
flecked  with  patches  of  lace-like  foam.  Further  still, 
it  wound  silently  through  the  sedges,  reflecting  on  its 
glassy  surface  the  stormed-carved  Cathedral  Rocks,  or 
the  huge  mass  of  El  Capitan.  Here  was  an  ideal  trout 
stream,  but  were  there  trout  in  it !  No  doubt,  for  the 
Doctor  had  taken  his  grocers'  string  and  a  worm  and  a 
veritable  pole,  and  after  a  day's  tramp  had  returned  to 
camp  wet,  hungry,  in  a  sulphurous  mood,  but  with 
four  unmistakable  trout.     These,  served  up  the  next 


162  FISHING  WITH  THE  FLY. 

morning,  were  appropriated  by  the  Judgess,  and  made 
an  excellent  appetizer  to  more  abundant  bacon  and 
flap- jacks. 

Jack  had  reached  that  pearl  of  waters,  the  Mirror 
Lake,  and  was  watching  the  marvellous  beauties  pict- 
ured on  its  bosom,  when  suddenly  there  was  a  soft 
plash,  the  sleeping  depths  were  troubled,  a  circling 
ripple  crept  toward  him,  and  Jack's  pulses  bounded. 
A  trout  had  risen  ! 

Through  the  dewy  chaparral  and  the  fragrant  whis- 
pering pines,  our  friend  hurried  back  to  camp  in  a 
fever  of  impatience.  He  tried  to  help  Yang  with 
breakfast,  but  was  told  by  that  dignitary  to  ^'  giv'  us  a 
rest,"  and  so  humbly  retired.  He  then  waked  his 
Eeverence.  He  wakened  the  Doctor  and  was  greeted  by 
language  far  from  complimentary.  He  aroused  the 
Judgess,  and  was  pierced  with  daggers  from  her  eyes 
while  she  hurriedly  adjusted  her  teeth. 

After  breakfast  more  torturing  delays,  the  Judgess 
declined  to  join  the  mountain  party.  The  others  must 
not  think  that  she  feared  to  ride  the  mules,  fpr  she 
adored  mountain  climbing,  and  the  exercise  and  all 
that.  (This  was  a  dreadful  fib,  which  was  probably 
made  use  of  at  her  next  confession. )  Both  the  Judge 
and  herself  were  pining  for  a  few  refinements  of  life 
at  the  hotel.  Without  napkins  and  finger-bowls,  life 
became  a  burden.  The  poor  Judge  had  to  acquiesce 
and  said  :  "She  wants  a  little  civilization  as  it  were.^^ 
Then  Jack  rebelled.     There  was  a  general  confusion. 


FLY  FISHING  IN  THE  YOSEMITE.  163 

in  the  midst  of  which  Yang  began  to  fire  his  pistol. 
This  pistol  was  the  idol  of  his  pagan  soul,  and  his  fre- 
quent salutes  the  terror  of  the  party.  No  one  dared  to 
interfere.  At  this  time  the  volley  was  continued  and 
promiscuous.  The  Judgess  screamed,  and  having  no 
immediate  revenge  in  the  shape  of  ill-cooked  dinners 
to  fear,  sharply  expostulated.  Thereupon  Yang,  with 
utmost  sangfroid,  told  her  to  "  shut  your  head  "  and 
journey  to  regions  he  had  probably  heard  the  Doctor 
name.  This  was  too  much.  The  Judgess  climbed 
into  the  wagon  and  stated  her  opinion  of  people  who 
permitted  such  "goings  on"  and  of  a  priest  who 
allowed  a  Christian  woman  to  be  sworn  at.  Madge  was 
convulsed  with  laughter,  even  his  Reverence  smiled, 
while  the  Judge,  poor  man,  looking  as  if  every  brewery 
on  the  continent  had  been  burned,  snapped  his  whip, 
and  the  wagon  was  lost  to  sight  beneath  the  arching 
sequoias. 

It  was  high  noon  when  the  sure-footed  mules  had 
arrived  and  the  party  fairly  started  off.  Jack  waved  an 
adieu  with  one  hand,  and  with  the  other  reached  down 
his  rod  from  the  branches  of  a  live  oak.  Yang  pro- 
ceeded to  dissect  a  sucker  he  had  caught  for  bait,  say- 
ing :  **^  If  you  fishee,  me  fishee  too,  but  you  no  sabee 
nothing." 

Later  in  the  afternoon  Jack  stood  on  the  grassy 
point  where  the  lake  narrows  into  the  river.  He  had 
adjusted  his  flies,  and  everything  was  in  readiness.  He 
paused  to  watch  Yang,  who  was  stationed  below  on  the 


164  FISHING  WITH  THE  FLY. 

river,  fasten  a  cubic  inch  of  sucker  to  his  hook,  ex- 
pectorate upon  it,  turn  around  three  times,  and  fling 
it  with  a  tremendous  splash  into  the  water.  "Whether 
these  performances  were  the  result  of  Oriental  supersti- 
tion, or  whether  the  Chinaman  imitated  some  Ameri- 
can example,  he  did  not  stop  to  consider.  His  long 
unpractised  hand,  trembling  a  little  now,  had  sent  the 
flies  far  out  beneath  the  shadows  of  some  willows. 
Another  cast  was  made,  and  then  another.  At  the 
fourth  there  was  a  rise,  and  the  fish  was  hooked.  The 
struggle  was  short  but  spirited.  Yang,  abandoning  his 
primitive  tackle,  was  ready  with  the  landing-net,  and 
the  fish  v/as  killed.  As  the  sport  continued.  Jack 
grew  calmer,  while  Yang's  excitement  increased.  He 
trembled  as  if  the  ague  were  upon  him.  His  stoicism 
was  laid  aside.  He  laughed,  jabbered,  and  Jack  was 
obliged  to  address  him  as  the  Chinaman  had  addressed 
the  Judgess.  Yang  begged  to  try  the  rod,  and  by  rea- 
son of  his  imitative  faculties  might  have  made  good 
use  of  it,  but  he  had  to  content  himself  with  the  net. 
At  last  the  lengthening  shadows  deepened  into  twi- 
light, and  the  gathering  darkness  put  an  end  to  the 
sport.  The  great  dome  of  Mt.  Watkins,  inverted  in  the 
motionless  water,  had  changed  from  gold  to  crimson, 
and  from  crimson  to  violet ;  they  paid  no  heed  until 
the  reflection  faded,  then,  looking  up,  the  real  moun- 
tain, circled  by  rising  mists,  seemed  to  float  in  the 
darkening  sky,  and  Jack,  with  that  feeling  of  perfect 
content  and  peace  which  kings  can  never  know  unless 


FLY  FISHINO  IN  TEE  YOSEMITE.  165 

they  are  anglers,  stowed  away  his  flies,  un jointed  his 
rod,  while  Yang  shouldered  the  catch. 

It  was  a  happy  couple  that  went  down  the  Tenajo 
canon  that  evening.  The  moon  smiled  upon  them  ;  an 
owl  hooted  enviously  ;  Jack  softly  whistled  a  strain  from 
Schubert,  while  Yang  made  the  towering  rocks  echo 
and  re-echo  to  the  joyous  banging  of  the  pistol. 

The  fish  were  dressed,  supper  eaten,  Yang's  tin 
dishes  washed,  and  everything  was  snug  for  the  night. 
Jack,  stretched  beneath  a  giant  pine  and  smoking  his 
evening  pipe,  was  watching  the  weird  play  of  the  fire- 
light in  the  canopy  of  foliage  above.  The  Celestial  ap- 
joeared. 

"  Me  heap  lonesome,  got  no  more  cartridges  ;  you  no 
care  ;  go  down  hotel  stay  Chinaboy  to-night." 

Unselfish,  devoted,  and  charitable  as  Yang  claimed 
to  be,  he  could  hardly  pretend  to  heroism.  The  China- 
man was  permitted  to  go,  and  Jack,  appropriating  the 
Judgess'  hammock,  turned  in.  This  hammock  owed 
Jack  a  lodging.  All  the  way  across  the  plains,  and  up 
the  mountains,  and  in  the  valley,  that  hammock  had 
almost  nightly  collapsed.  Perhaps  the  Judge  did  not 
know  how  to  tie  a  knot ;  perhaps  the  ample  physique 
of  the  Judgess  was  too  much  for  any  knot,  but  the 
thing  kept  occurring,  to  the  great  discomfiture  of  the 
Judgess  and  all  the  rest  of  the  party.  As  Jack,  with 
his  feet  at  the  fire,  and  his  head  on  a  sack  of  barley,  lay 
studying  the  midnight  heavens,  there  would  come  a 
shock  as  of  an  earthquake.  The  Judge  was  a  little  deaf 


166  FISHING  WITH  THE  FLY. 

and  after  a  night  or  two  of  experience,  would  lie  just 
beyond  reach  of  whatever  member  his  better  half  could 
disentangle  with  which  to  punch  him.  First,  his  Eev- 
erence  would  be  summoned ;  but  he  slept  the  sleep  of 
the  just.  Then  cries  for  Ah  Yang  and  the  others  would 
follow.  Yang  was  too  wise  a  Chinaman  to  awaken. 
Jack  sometimes  rolled  over  and  kicked  the  Doctor  till 
he  roused,  and  the  good  lady  hearing  his  exclamations, 
claimed  his  assistance ;  but  sometimes  Jack  also  shed 
his  blankets  and  relieved  the  massive  limbs  from  a  state 
of  suspension. 

With  content  Jack  rolled  himself  in  the  hammock. 
Never  had  he  slept  in  such  profound  solitude.  The 
nearest  camp  was  far  away  down  the  valley ;  and  to- 
wards the  east,  beyond  the  mountain-barrier,  nothing 
but  the  wild  desert,  and  solitary,  sage-clad  hills  of 
Nevada. 

The  river  murmured  over  the  pebbles,  the  pines 
faintly  whispered,  and  that  was  all.  For  once  he  was 
alone,  and  oh !  the  peace  of  it !  Was  it  such  a  night  as 
this  that  tempted  men  to  leave  their  fellows  for  a  her- 
mitage ?  Such  visions  came  to  him  as  seldom  visit  men 
beneath  a  roof.  At  last  he  slept,  and  dreamed  of  the 
first  trout  he  had  killed  in  a  little  New  England 
meadow-brook.  He  was  filling  a  creel  with  bass  from  a 
fair  Wisconsin  lake.  He  was  in  a  plunger  off  Montauk 
Point,  striking  the  blue-fish.  He  was  trolling  for  pike 
through  Champlain,  and  casting  a  fly  from  a  canoe  on 
Adirondack  waters. 


FLY  FISHING  IN  THE  T08EMITE.  167 

The  South  Dome  was  glowing  in  the  ruddy  morning 
light ;  a  flock  of  blackbirds  were  piping  cheerily ;  an 
odor  of  fried  trout  and  coffee  was  in  the  air,  and  Yang 
was  tugging  at  the  blankets,  and  saying  : 

*'  Come,  you  heap  laze,  bleakfast  all  leddy.   Git  up! " 

What  a  dinner  Yang  and  Jack  had  in  readiness  for 
the  party  that  night !  The  Judge  and  spouse,  after 
much  pressing,  had  come.  The  lady  could  not  with- 
stand the  trout,  especially  on  a  Friday.  The  judicial 
pair  arrived  just  as  Madge  and  his  Reverence  raced  into 
camp  on  the  sturdy  mules.  The  Doctor  and  guide  fol- 
lowed. Madge's  cheeks  were  glowing,  her  eyes  spark- 
ling, and  her  tongue  rattling>  as  she  leaped  from  her 
saddle.  **  Such  a  time  as  they  had  had  !  His  Reverence 
had  been  a  duck,  and  the  Doctor  for  once  had  behaved 
himself  and  kept  civil."  She  gave  her  hand  to  the 
Judgess,  but  kissed  the  Judge. 

At  Yang's  summons,  a  jovial  company  sat  down  to 
such  a  table  as  campers  in  the  Sierras  seldom  see. 
Madge  was  in  ecstacies,  and  even  the  Judgess  expressed 
approval.  There  was  real  damask  upon  it,  with  nap- 
kins and  silver  forks  and  wine  from  the  hotel,  with  all 
sorts  of  garnitures  of  Yang's  contrivance.  • 

The  dinner  began,  continued,  and  ended  with  fish ; 
but  fish  cooked  in  every  way  which  Oriental  imagination 
could  devise,  and  camp  facilities  permit.  Even  "Simp- 
son's Fish  Dinner,"  of  seven  courses,  in  Billingsgate, 
could  not  surpass  it.     The  Judgess,  having  disposed  of 


168  FI8HING  WITH  THE  FLY. 

about  a  dozen  fish,  remarked  that,  after  all,  these  were 
only  California  trout,  and  entirely  lacked  the  flavor,  as 
they  lacked  the  beauty,  of  their  Eastern  cousins.  She 
thought,  however,  that  Yang's  salad — of  cresses  from 
the  Merced — was  not  bad ;  but  wine — even  if  it  was 
champagne — when  sipped  from  a  tin  cup,  left  much  to 
be  desired.  Alas  !  Jack  had  forgotten  to  borrow  the 
glasses. 

All  that  evening,  around  the  camp-fire,  the  party  lis- 
tened to  an  account  of  the  catch.  The  Doctor  did  not 
hesitate  to  express  his  entire  disbelief  in  the  story.  It 
was  his  opinion  that  Jack  had  hired  the  Indians  to  fish 
for  him,  and  bribed  Yang  to  hold  his  tongue.  Then 
Yang  spoke  : 

^'  You  think  you  heap  smart.  Jack  heap  sabee  how 
fish,  and  you  no  sabee,  but  me  sabee  you.  Last  Fliday 
you  go  fish,  and  when  me  water  horse,  see  Injun  sellee 
you  fish.     I  sabee  you" 

In  the  peals  of  laughter  which  followed,  the  Doctor 
went  away  to  his  blankets  muttering.  So  the  trout  the 
Judgess  had  enjoyed  a  week  before  were  not  the  Doc- 
tor's catching,  after  all. 

A  week  longer  the  party  lingered  in  the  valley. 
Madge  and  his  Eeverence  became  quite  expert  with  the 
fiy.  The  lake  seemed  to  have  yielded  all  its  finny 
treasures  to  Jack,  but  the  Merced  afforded  ample  sport. 
Many  strings  of  trout  were  sent  to  fellow-campers,  and 
to  friends  at  the  hotel ;  and  one  little  hamper  made 
the  long  journey  by  stage  and  rail  to  San  Francisco. 


FLT  FISHING  IN  THE  TO  SEMITE.  169 

The  *'  trout-camp  "  became  famous  in  the  valley,  and 
paragraphs  noticing  the  catch  appeared  in  the  Stockton 
Independent,  and  even  in  the  Sacramento  Bee.  Jack 
had  accomplished  his  purpose,  and  had  not  come  to 
the  Yosemite  in  vain. 

Then  the  prairie  schooner  sailed  away  through  the 
mountains,  Madge  and  his  Reverence  driving  by  turns, 
while  the  Judge  held  his  ponderous  foot  on  the  brake. 
Yang  was  mounted  on  a  mustang,  while  the  doctor 
and  Jack  trudged  through  the  dust.  Frequent  halts 
were  made,  the  Judgess  taking  her  noon-day  siesta, 
the  "three  fishers,"  as  she  called  Madge,  his  Rever- 
ence and  Jack,  striking  out  for  some  neighboring 
stream.  Near  the  Tuolumne  big  trees  his  Reverence 
took  the  largest  trout  of  the  trip — a  four-pounder.  On 
the  Tuolumne  River  the  three  met  with  fair  success  ; 
but  on  the  upper  waters  of  the  Stanislaus  the  sport 
was  better.  They  tarried  by  the  stream  winding 
through  that  dead  little  mining  town,  Big  Oak  Flat. 
The  banks  of  the  little  river  were  honey-combed  by 
the  old  placer  mining.  The  population  of  the  Flat 
wondered  to  see  Madge  cast  a  fly.  Even  the  China- 
men who  were  still  washing  for  gold,  would  throw 
aside  their  cradles  and  pans  to  gaze. 

An  ancient  beau  of  the  town  stranded  there  fifteen 
years  ago  (such  a  man  as  Bret  Harte  would  have  glo- 
ried in),  became  so  enamored  with  the  fair  angler  that 
he  would  have  followed  in  her  wake ;  but  the  fickle 
object  of  his  admiration  eluded  her  admirer,  and  the 


170  FISHING  WITH  THE  FLY. 

miner  sadly  headed  his  mustang  toward  his  mountam 
home,  promising  to  call  '^next  time  he  went  to  'Frisco." 

The  schooner  dropped  anchor  in  Oakland.  The 
Judge  asked  all  to  dine  with  him  that  day  week — '^a 
sort  of  a  re-union,  as  it  were,  you  know."  His  Eever- 
ence  hastened  to  don  something  more  in  keeping  with 
his  cloth  than  a  blue  shirt ;  Madge  threw  a  kiss  to 
Jack  as  the  Doctor  handed  her  into  a  carriage ;  and 
Jack  was  left  to  cross  the  ferry  alone.  Yang,  however, 
had  not  abandoned  him.  He  produced  a  piece  of  red 
paper  and  asked  Jack  to  write  his  address  upon  it. 

''  I  hab  one  fliend  who  come  get  your  washee  Mon- 
day." 

Jack,  inured  to  submission,  could  not  refuse,  and 
Yang's  "fliend"  still  does  his  "washee." 

Since  the  Yosemite  excursion  Jack  has  trailed  salmon 
flies  on  the  noble  Columbia  Eiver,  and  whipped  the 
California  trout  streams  from  the  cactus-covered  plains 
of  the  Mexican  border  to  the  glaciers  of  Mount  Shasta, 
but  he  has  never  had  such  keen  enjoyment  with  the 
fly  as  on  that  afternoon  at  Mirror  Lake. 

When  he  arranges  his  tackle  for  a  little  holiday  sport 
on  the  Russian  River,  or  the  streams  among  the  red 
woods  of  Santa  Cruz,  he  sees  again  the  reflected  fir-trees 
and  granite  dome  trembling  in  the  water  as  the  trout 
leap  to  his  fly ;  he  again  hears  Yang's  ejaculations  and 
commands.  "Fifty-sleven,  Jack.  Hi !  that  big  fish  ; 
fifty-eight.  You  heap  sabee.  Hold  him  tight.  'Rusa- 
lem,  him  sabee  how  swim  !  Pull  like  hella,  fifty-nine  I " 


^=^'    TROUT      FLIES. 


Made  by  C  F.ORVIS.   Manchester.Vt 


CO  PYR  I  G  H  T  E  D 


* '  Trout  take  some  flies  because  they  resemble  the  real  fly  on 
which  they  feed.  They  take  other  flies  for  no  such  reason." — W, 
C.  Prime, 

*'  The  oft-repeated  quotation,  *  Spare  the  rod  and  spoil  the 
child,'  has  been  misconstrued  for  many  a  long  day,  and  if  1  had 
known  early  in  life  its  real  significance  it  would  hardly  have  made 
so  doleful  an  impression.  There  is  no  doubt  to-day  in  my  mind 
that  this  *rod'  meant  a  fishing-rod,  and  the  timely  cherishing  of 
it  in  youth  tends  to  develop  that  portion  of  one's  nature  to 
which  the  former  use  was  entirely  innocent." — Thomas  Sedgwick 
Steele. 

**  My  favorite  fly  of  all  is  a  snipe  feather  and  mouse  body." — 
"  Frank  Forester." 

31.  Cinnamon.  32.  Deerfly.  33.  Red  Fox. 

34.  Camlet  Dun.  35.  Governor.  36.  Green  Drake. 

37.  Alder.  38.  Cheney.  39.  Soldier. 

40.  Hod.  41.  Kingdom.  42.  Oak  Fly. 

43.  Gray  Coflin.  44.  Fin  Fly.  45.  Beaverkill. 

46.  Yellow  May.  47.  Black  June.  48.  Quaker. 

*•  Often  the  whereabouts  of  a  trout  is  betrayed  by  a  break  or  a 
leap  from  the  surface,  and  the  wide-awake  angler  will  make  it  his 
business  to  toss  his  fly  over  the  spot  sooner  or  later.  Sometimes 
the  trout  rush  at  the  lure  like  a  flash,  leaping  clear  over  it  in  their 
eagerness.     They  are  difficult  to  hook  then." — Charles  Hallock. 

"  No  description  of  the  brook  trout,- that  has  ever  been  given, 
does  him  justice.  It  stands  unrivalled  as  a  game  flsh." — Theoda- 
tus  Garlick,  M.D. 

**  The  best  flies  to  use  are  imitations  of  those  which  are  bom  on 
the  water;  for,  though  trout  will  often  take  land  flies,  and  indeed 
almost  any  insect  you  can  throw  on  the  water,  yet  it  is  on  the 
water-flies  which  he  chiefly  depends  for  his  sustenance." — Francis 
Francis. 


"  A  trout  does  not  always  get  the  fly  when  he  attempts  to;  it 
may  be  lying  against  the  leader,  making  it  impossible  for  him  to 
get  it  in  his  mouth ;  you  may  strike  too  quickly,  taking  it  out  of 
reach;  the  strike  maybe  too  hard,  tearing  his  mouth.  More  trout 
by  far  are  pricked  than  hooked.  ,  Practice  only  can  teach  you 
when  to  strike ;  you  see  a  faint  gleam  under  the  surface,  when 
you  instinctively  twitch,  to  find  you  have  hooked  a  beauty.  Few 
fishermen  can  separate  force  from  quickness  of  motion.  Never 
use  your  arm  in  making  the  strike,  only  your  wrist ;  then  will  the 
difficulty  be  overcome."—^.  S.  Up  de  Graff,  M.D. 

"Innocent  stranger!  Thou  who  readest  these  lines!  perhaps 
you  never  caught  a  trout.  If  so,  thou  knowest  not  for  what  life 
was  originally  intended.  Thou  art  a  vain,  insignificant  mortal ! 
pui-suing  shadows  !  Ambition  lures  thee,  fame  dazzles,  wealth 
leads  thee  on,  panting!  Thou  art  chasing  spectres,  goblins  that 
satisfy  not.  If  thou  hast  not  caught  a  trout,  this  world  is  to  thee, 
as  yet,  a  blank,  existence  is  a  dream.  Go  and  weep." — Thaddeus 
Norris. 

"On  one  occasion  the  writer  was  awakened  at  a  very  early 
hour,  when,  lo!  Mr.  Webster,  who  happened  to  be  in  a  par- 
ticularly playful  mood,  was  seen  going  through  the  graceful  mo- 
tions of  an  angler  throwing  a  fly  and  striking  a  trout,  and  then, 
without  a  word,  disappeared.  As  a  matter  of  course,  that  day 
was  given  to  fishing."— iajrima?i's  Ldfe  of  Webster, 

*'  There  is  some  difference  of  opinion  as  to  the  working  of  the 
flies  after  they  have  fallen.  Mr.  Francis  objects  to  any  movement 
beyond  that  of  the  stream.  Others  like  to  impart  a  gentle  trem- 
ulous motion — as  being  more  consistent  with  the  notion  that  the 
fly  is  drowning.  Of  course,  it  is  not  here  advised  that  the  fly  be 
drawn  along  with  a  series  of  jerks,  but  that  just  such  motion  shall 
be  imparted,  and  no  more,  as  shall  render  the  fly  a  simulated 
drowning  fly."— (7.  LitUe. 


■Longiiudt      esis"    "vy:  ■fc&t^'^&T^^^^!^^^ 


isriPiGoisr  nivEH 


FLY-FISHING  ON  THE  NIPIGON. 


Cincinnati,  June  2,  1884. 
Mr.  Charles  F.  Orvis,  Manchester,  Vt.  : 

My  Dear  Sir — The  box  of  flies  made  to  my  order, 
and  according  to  samples  furnished  by  me,  came  just  one 
day  too  late  to  reach  me  at  the  Sault  Ste.  Marie  as  I  went 
north  to  the  Nipigon  Kiver  last  July. 

To  a  fly-fisherman  whose  usual  resort  is  some  New 
England  brook  or  river,  such  flies  as  these  are  simply 
enormous  ;  but  I  believe  that  the  trout  in  the  Nipigon 
Kiver  would  rise  freely  to  a  moderate-sized  canary  bird 
if  it  could  be  properly  cast.  Although  I  missed  this 
fresh  supply  of  flies,  perfectly  adapted  to  the  stream, 
our  party  of  two  were  tolerably  weU  supplied.  We  had 
an  abundance  of  small  trout  flies,  tied  in  London,  which 
were  not  even  noticed  by  the  uneducated  Nipigon  trout. 
We  also  had  flies  such  as  we  had  thrown  for  trout  and 
land-locked  salmon  on  the  Maine  Lakes,  and  a  few  sam- 
ples of  your  large  "  Lake  flies  "  and  two  or  three  immense 
gray  hackles  like  those  ordered.  The  large  lake  flies 
and  the  large  hackles  were  the  correct  thing  where  the 
large  trout  were  to  be  found. 

At  the  risk  of  telling  you  what  you  already  know,  I 
will  remark  that  the  Nipigon  Eiver  constitutes  the  real 


174  FISniNO  WITH  TEE  FLY. 

upper  course  of  the  St.  Lawrence.  It  is  the  largest 
stream  flowing  into  Lake  Superior.  Its  source,  Lake 
Nipigon,  is  about  two-thirds  as  large  as  Lake  Erie  ;  it  is 
irregular  in  shape,  deep,  with  rocky  shores  and  in- 
numerable islands.  This  lake  is  fed  by  twelve  small 
rivers,  each  one  with  an  unpronounceable  name  nearly 
the  length  of  its  course.  Lake  Nipigon  is  313  feet 
higher  than  Lake  Superior,  and  as  the  course  of  the 
river  is  less  than  forty  miles  and  one-third  of  that  dis- 
tance is  occupied  by  four  smaU  lakes  through  which  it 
passes,  the  remainder  has  an  exceedingly  rapid  current. 
The  water  of  the  Nipigon  is  cold  and  clear.  It  enters 
Lake  Superior  at  the  northern  point  of  Nipigon  Bay 
between  two  huge  precipices  of  red  sandstone  which 
gave  the  name  of  Ked  Rock  to  the  Hudson  Bay  Com- 
pany's post  which  lies  on  the  right  bank  just  at  the  foot 
of  the  first  rapids. 

I  advise  no  one  to  try  to  ascertain  the  meaning  of  the 
word  Nipigon.  Nipi  means  water  in  several  Indian  dia- 
lects. When  J.  E.  Cabot  coasted  along  the  southern  part 
of  Nipigon  Bay  with  Prof.  Agassiz,  in  1848,  the  water  had 
been  stirred  near  the  islands  by  a  recent  storm,  and  he 
understood  that  Nipigon  meant  dirty  water  and  he  so  re- 
corded it.  Prof.  Bell  in  his  report  says  that  his  Indians 
interpreted  it  as  meaning  deep,  clear  ivater  lake.  Our  In- 
dians declared  that  Nipigon  was  a  "  white  man's  name  ; " 
but  that  the  original  name  meant  water  with  many  chan- 
nels. On  the  earliest  map  of  this  region  which  I  have 
seen,  the  lake  is  called  Alemipigon.     When  the  guide- 


FLT-FISHING  OJST  THE  NIPIGON.  175 

book  writers  get  up  there,  they  will  probably  discover  a 
new  meaning,  now  unknown  even  to  the  natives. 

We  commenced  fishing  July  11th,  on  the  first  rapids 
of  the  river,  from  our  canoes,  with  two  ordinary  flies  such 
as  we  have  often  used  in  Maine.  The  first  day  I  caught 
two  pairs.  After  the  second  full  catch  I  removed  one  fly. 
The  trout  were  feeding  in  the  rapids  where  the  water  was 
so  active  that  it  was  almost  impossible  for  a  fly-rod  to  drag 
up  two  two-pound  trout  within  reach  of  the  landing-net. 
We  found  it  necessary  to  shorten  the  leaders  from  nine 
to  six  feet,  so  as  to  spare  the  rods  in  getting  the  trout  to 
the  net.  Our  total  catch  this  afternoon  in  three  hours 
for  two  rods  was  twenty  pounds.  The  fish  averaged  a 
pound  each.  While  we  were  camped  at  the  Hudson 
Bay  Post  we  had  no  difficulty  in  disposing  of  any 
amount  of  fish.  Farther  up  the  river  we  returned 
more  than  half  of  the  uninjured  fish  to  the  water,  except 
on  such  days  as  transient  Indians  camped  near  us.  We 
took  sixty-four  pounds  of  trout  one  afternoon,  and 
thirteen  Indians  consumed  all  of  them  before  they  slept. 

The  Nipigon  is  a  large  and  strong  stream  of  water  ex- 
actly suited  to  trout.  The  fish  are  well  fed,  and  average 
larger  than  I  have  found  them  in  any  waters  that  I  have 
fished  in  Maine. 

Our  second  camp  was  at  Alexandra  Falls,  fifteen  miles 
up  the  river.  Here  there  is  a  mile  of  rapid  water  and 
most  excellent  fishing.  The  trout  were  larger  than  were 
taken  below,  averaging  nearly  two  pounds.  We  soon 
found  that  small  flies  could  not  be  seen  in  very  quick 


176  FI8HING  WITH  THE  FLY. 

water,  and  that  small  hooks  would  not  hold  two-pound 
trout  in  a  roaring,  raging  torrent.  We  fished  from  our 
canoes.  If  we  found  a  place  where  trout  were  plentiful 
we  anchored  below  some  big  rock,  or  in  an  eddy,  and 
cast  on  either  side.  The  trout,  when  struck,  had  usually 
to  be  pulled  up  through  the  rapids  in  a  manner  that 
seriously  threatened  to  break  our  bamboo  rods. 

From  Alexandra  Falls  we  crossed  a  portage  of  two 
and  a  half  miles,  and  afterward  some  lesser  portages, 
to  a  point  known  as  Camp  Cincinnati.  Here  we  had 
excellent  fishing  in  about  a  mile  of  rapids,  with  falls 
above  and  below.  There  are  two  fine  large  pools  above, 
which  we  visited.  In  one  of  them  I  took  three  two- 
pound  fish  within  ten  minutes.  The  three  all  dashed 
at  my  hook  the  first  time  it  was  cast  near  them.  One 
was  happy  enough  to  get  it,  and  the  others  chased  him 
around  even  when  we  were  netting  the  first  one,  and 
made  efforts  to  snatch  the  fly  from  his  mouth.  My  guide 
tried  to  net  one  of  the  free  fish,  but  missed  him.  One 
rod  this  day  took  fifty-six  pounds  of  trout. 

At  Camp  Victoria,  some  miles  farther  up  the  river, 
we  stayed  several  days,  making  excursions  across  to 
Lake  Nipigon,  about  six  miles  away,  and  to  the  "Virgin 
Falls,  seven  miles  up  the  river,  near  where  the  river 
leaves  the  lake.  The  Hudson  Bay  employees  do  not 
follow  the  river  to  the  lake  ;  they  cut  across  through 
Lake  Hannah,  and  carry  over  a  low  divide  a  mile  wide 
to  the  south  shore  of  Lake  Nipigon. 

At  Camp  Victoria  the  fishing-grounds  were  on  the 


FLY-FISHING  ON  THE  NIPIGON.  177 

rapids,  in  sight  from  our  tent.  I  should  think  that  the 
water  fell  twenty  feet  in  about  a  hundred  yards.  A 
canoe  could  be  anchored  in  almost  any  part  of  it,  and 
the  trout  were  found  in  every  part. 

We  took  one  morning  all  the  fish  we  could  possibly 
use  in  the  day ;  but  the  afternoon  was  perfect  weather 
for  fishing,  and  we  could  not  he  quiet  in  the  tent  within 
sight  of  the  leaping  fish.  Thus  far  we  had  neither  of  us 
taken  a  trout  at  any  place  weighing  more  than  three 
pounds,  and  we  agreed  that  we  would  not  kill  a  fish  unless 
it  weighed  more  than  five  pounds.  I  was  called  upon,  in 
accordance  with  this  agreement,  to  toss  overboard  one 
four-pounder  and  a  dozen  of  smaller  size.  I  find  in  my 
note-book  for  this  day  the  following  memoranda  of  one 
perfect  catch.  I  saw  a  trout  rise  at  my  right  some  fifty 
feet  below  us.  I  threw  over  the  place,  and  he  sprang 
clear  from  the  water  in  the  most  graceful  curve  imag- 
inable, and  fastened  himself  firmly  on  the  hook  as  he 
came  down.  He  took  a  rapid  run  to  my  left  for  some 
fifty  feet,  and  at  the  end  threw  himself  boldly  out  of  the 
water,  showing  his  broad  red-spotted  sides,  and  dashing 
the  sparkling  drops  of  water  high  in  the  air.  Then  he 
sought  the  bottom,  and  worked  his  way  back  to  my 
right,  and  at  last,  when  well  wearied,  he  took  a  clever 
run  up  stream,  and  as  I  brought  him  to  the  surface  he 
floated  gently  down  beside  the  canoe  and  dropped  into 
the  landing-net.  He  was  quickly  weighed,  and  dropped 
from  the  scales  into  the  river,  and  he  darted  away  un- 
harmed by  the  perilous  adventure. 


178  FISHINO  WITH  THE  FLY. 

I  recollect  also  the  particulars  of  the  last  double  catch 
I  made  on  the  stream.  The  pair  were  of  nearly  the 
same  size  and  were  struck  well  down  the  stream.  The 
dropper  or  hand-fly  was  taken  last,  and  it  was  some 
minutes  before  my  light  rod  could  hold  him  up  to  the 
surface  long  enough  to  take  the  fight  out  of  him.  The 
trout  on  the  tail-fly  was  still  as  active  as  ever.  The 
reel  line  was  all  in,  and  I  could  not  pull  the  two  up  near 
enough  for  my  guide  to  net  the  rear  fish  first.  I  would 
not  consent  to  a  possible  loss  of  either  of  them.  I 
directed  him  to  net  the  upper  fish  quickly  and  cut  the 
snell  with  my  knife.  This  he  did,  and  the  fish  that  had 
temporary  possession  of  the  tail-fly  darted  off  and  had 
his  own  fun  before  he  would  consent  to  be  led  into  the 
landing-net.     The  two  weighed  five  and  a  half  pounds. 

Our  day  at  the  Virgin  Falls,  July  19th,  was  the  suc- 
cessful termination  of  our  northward  journey.  We  pad- 
dled up  the  stream  with  both  birch-bark  canoes  and 
reached  the  falls  at  about  10  a.m.  We  carried  our  canoe 
around  a  sharp  rapid  at  Miner's  Camp  and  came  in  sight 
of  the  falls  as  we  cleared  the  pine  forest  which  covered 
our  path.  The  falls,  thirty  feet  high,  were  right  in  front 
of  us,  half  a  mile  away,  and  a  great  eddy,  white  with 
foam,  filled  the  space  between  us  and  the  foot  of  the  fall 
where  the  river  turns  at  a  right  angle.  Gulls,  eagles, 
and  fish-hawks  were  soaring  over  the  white  water  of 
the  rapids  and  diving  occasionally  for  their  prey.  We 
soon  landed  at  the  rocky  point  below  the  falls.  The 
trout  could  be  seen  throwing  themselves  clear  from  the 


FLT-FISHINO  ON  THE  NIPIOON.  I79 

water  in  the  eddy.  I  did  not  strike  one  until  we  had 
been  there  half  an  hour.  I  was  greatly  puzzled  to  place 
my  fly  far  out  on  the  deep  water  where  the  trout  were 
to  be  seen  feeding.  It  was  too  deep  to  anchor,  too 
swift  to  hold  the  canoe  with  paddles,  and  too  far  to 
cast.  I  had  with  me  a  multiplying  bass-reel  with  click 
and  drag,  both  removable,  allowing  free  play  of  the  reel. 
I  cast  from  the  point  into  the  swift  current  at  my  right 
hand,  and  as  soon  as  my  reel-line  was  straightened  I 
released  the  click  and  the  Hne  spun  out  in  five  seconds 
fully  two  hundred  feet.  I  then  reeled  in  slowly,  and 
rarely  did  I  have  to  repeat  my  cast  without  capturing  a 
fish.  My  first  was  a  five-pound  brook  trout.  The  eddy 
helped  to  bring  the  fish  in  even  to  my  feet,  and  it  was 
soon  in  the  meshes  of  the  landing-net.  At  this  place 
the  largest  flies  were  needed,  and  a  bit  of  pork-rind  the 
size  of  a  small  steel  pen,  or  a  small  shiner  was  sure  to 
take  a  trout.  There  was  no  striking  short  or  delay. 
The  trout  were  there ;  they  were  feeding,  and  we  were 
constantly  occupied,  except  when  we  stopped  to  take  a 
generous  lunch  and  a  short  rest,  until  four  o'clock,  when 
we  ceased  fishing  and  attempted  to  photograph  the  falls 
and  our  string  of  fish. 

We  then  had  in  our  pool  among  the  rocks,  dug  out 
by  some  clever  predecessor,  the  largest  trout  that  the 
writer  ever  took.  We  weighed  thii*teen  trout  that  ag- 
gregated fifty-five  and  a  haK  pounds,  and  four  Mackinaw 
trout  averaging  eight  pounds  each.  We  killed  four  of 
the  speckled   trout  weighing  as   follows  :    Five  and  a 


180  FISHINO  WITH  THE  FLY. 

half  pounds,  five  and  a  half  pounds,  five  and  a  quarter 
pounds,  five  pounds,  and  returned  all  the  others  in  good 
condition  to  the  water.  These  trout  were  from  twenty- 
two  to  twenty-four  inches  long,  and  from  thirteen  to 
thirteen  and  a  half  inches  in  shoulder  girth.  They  were 
all  fine  breeding  trout,  with  the  sexual  differences 
strongly  marked  even  in  the  middle  of  July.  We  took 
trout  with  eggs  fuUy  developed  in  the  middle  of  July. 

It  may  be  well  to  remai'k  here  that  the  biting  on  the 
Nipigon  River  is  not  aU  done  by  the  fish.  There  are 
three  varieties  of  "fly "  that  bite.  The  mosquitoes  are 
thick  and  hungry.  They  are  sometimes  too  hungry  to  be 
driven  away  by  endurable  smoke  or  by  the  usual  "fly  iles." 
Tar  and  oHve-oil  well  daubed  on  wiU  keep  them  off  for 
a  few  minutes.  The  mosquitoes  do  not  bite  when  the 
sun  is  hot  on  the  water  or  when  the  wind  is  high.  The 
black  fly  is  to  some  persons  more  annoying  than  the 
mosquitoes.  He  is  indifferent  to  the  sacrifice  of  his 
individual  life.  The  angler  wipes  off  a  hundred  or  two 
from  under  the  protecting  brim  of  his  hat  and  from 
behind  his  ears,  and  the  eager  swarms  are  instantly  re- 
placed. More  than  one  man  has  been  confined  to  his 
camp  for  a  day  or  two  because  the  black  flies  closed  his 
eyes  by  their  bites. 

When  these  two  torments  are  quiet  or  absent,  the 
sportsman  may  be  assailed  by  sand  flies.  These  are 
almost  invisible,  but  they  bite  as  energetically  as  a  New 
Jersey  mosquito.  When  all  three  kinds  assail  the 
sportsman  at  once,  he  might  well  flee  for  his  life. 


FLT-FISHINO  ON  THE  NIPIGON.  181 

Now  one  word  as  to  requisites  for  a  trip  to  the  Nipigon 
River.  The  sportsman  from  the  States  must  have  a 
permit  from  the  Government  authorities.  He  needs  a 
good  large  birch-bark  canoe  and  two  experienced  men. 
He  will  provide  a  tent  (mosquito  tight),  provisions  and 
clothing  suited  to  a  cool  and  bracing  climate.  He  wants 
good  tackle,  two  or  more  steely,  stiff  fly-rods,  because 
one  may  break.  Good,  long,  heavy  reel  Hues  ;  short  and 
strong  gut  leaders  and  plenty  of  large  flies.  Hackles  of 
all  kinds,  white  moths,  royal  coachmen,  silver  doctor, 
Montreal,  Canada,  captain,  and  most  of  the  salmon  flies 
are  all  good  flies  for  the  Nipigon.  A  large  and  deep  land- 
ing-net with  long  staff  is  also  wanted,  but  there  is  no  need 
to  take  a  creel. 

It  is  fortunately  against  the  law  to  use  a  spoon,  or  to 
kill  fish  that  cannot  be  used.  It  is  not  a  safe  place  for 
pot-fishermen  to  go. 

At  times  bait  is  of  no  use  at  all  At  Virgin  Falls  on 
a  bright  warm  day,  we  found  that  the  fish  took  eagerly 
any  bait  that  resembled  a  shiner,  and  only  took  the  fly 
when  it  was  under  water  and  resembled  a  small  fish. 
One  night  at  Camp  Alexander  the  stone  flies  were  on  the 
water  in  the  greatest  abundance ;  the  trout  were  rising 
to  them  all  over  the  rapids  ;  but  the  fish  took  some  other 
artificial  fly  more  eagerly  than  they  did  the  close  imita- 
tions of  the  natural  fly.  At  times  the  trout  seemed  to 
strike  at  any  small  object  moving  in  the  water  which 
excited  their  curiosity.  At  several  points  on  the  river, 
particularly  in  the  wild  water  at  the  foot  of  falls,  the 


182  FISHING  WITH  THE  FLY. 

Mackinaw  trout,  scdvelinus  namaycush,  was  abundant  and 
took  the  fly  with  as  much  vigor  as  any  salvelinus  fontinalis 
(I  believe  that  these  are  the  correct  names  unless  some 
new  professor  has  changed  them  to-day).  We  could 
not  tell  which  we  had  struck  except  from  a  flirt  of  the 
caudal  fin.  The  "  well-forked  "  caudal  fin  of  the  Macki- 
naw trout  was  frequently  distinguished  by  our  guides  at 
a  great  distance.  They  do  not  play  toward  the  surface 
so  much  as  the  brook  trout.  They  were  fat  and  lazy, 
two  or  three  long  runs  generally  wearied  them  so  that 
they  led  peacefully  into  the  net. 

In  the  small  lakes  connected  with  this  river  there  are 
plenty  of  pike.  We  took  several  with  the  spoon  on  our 
trip  through  Lake  Hannah.  They  were  very  numerous 
in  the  small  bays  of  shallow  water  within  a  mile  of  wild 
rapids  where  trout  were  equally  abundant.  This  is  the 
first  water  I  have  fished  that  contained  both  pike  and 
trout.  Small  fish  of  several  kinds  were  so  abundant  that, 
when  we  wished  to  try  bait,  we  had  no  difficulty  in 
taking  "  shiners  "  with  a  quick  swoop  of  a  fine-meshed 
landing-net  near  the  shore. 

I  took  one  small  black  bass  at  the  mouth  of  the  brook 
just  below  Camp  Alexander.  It  was  the  first  one  that  any 
of  our  party  had  ever  heard  of  in  the  Nipigon  waters. 

With  such  abundant  ever-flowing  water  so  stocked  with 
game  fish  and  their  prey,  there  is  not  the  shghtest  dan- 
ger that  the  fishing  in  this  river  will  be  spoiled  so  long 
as  the  bites  of  mosquitoes,  sand  flies,  and  black  flies  are 
painful  to  men. 


FLT-FISHINO  ON  THE  NIPIGON.  183 

There  are  no  houses  on  or  near  the  Nipigon  above  the 
first  lake,  and  there  is  no  good  reason  why  there  should 
be  any  built  for  many  years  to  come.  The  Canadian 
Pacific  Kailroad  is  graded  from  the  west  to  the  Nipigon 
Kiver,  but  the  trains  were  not  running  nearer  than  Port 
Arthur,  close  by  Fort  William.  The  Nipigon  is  easily 
reached  by  the  steamers  which  follow  the  north  shore. 
The  trip  is  well  worth  the  time  spent. 

Last  year  we  were  the  first  sportsmen  on  the  upper 
part  of  the  river.  Others  came  while  we  were  there,  and 
we  have  learned  that  several  parties  had  good  success. 

I  had  almost  forgotten  to  say  that  the  scenery  of  the 
Nipigon  is  *'  alone  worth  the  price  of  admission  "  in  the 
language  of  the  show-bills.  The  rapids  are  the  only 
fishing-grounds  for  trout,  but  there  are  beautiful  lakes, 
quiet  reaches  of  still-flowing  water,  lofty  cliffs  of  brightly 
colored  rock,  magnificent  combinations  of  water,  rock, 
and  woods  that  charm  the  eye  and  give  quiet  and  rest  to 
nerves  that  have  been  overstrained  by  work  and  care. 
Very  respectfully, 

Henry  H.  Vail. 


'  *  We  do  not  expect  to  get  practical  instructions  from  the  old 
writers  on  angling,  but  we  do  learn  from  them  that  it  was  an 
honorable  pastime  and  so  held  by  those  high  in  the  various  walks 
of  life.  You  know  that  in  this  country  not  many  years  ago  a 
fish-rod  and  line  were  considered  the  belongings  of  a  sort  of  vag- 
abond. I  have  tried  to  show,  by  quoting  from  various  writers,  that 
angling  was  held  in  esteem  by  men  whose  opinions  were  entitled 
to  respect.  Thank  heaven,  we  no  longer  have  this  Puritanical 
horror  of  a  fish-rod  in  America,  the  only  place  where  it  ever  had 
growth." — A.  JV.  Cheney. 

'  *  I  have  a  few  rules  for  the  care  of  my  rods  which  I  always 
bear  in  mind,  and  wish  I  could  urge  upon  every  man  who  values 
a  fishing-rod.  You  may  not  need  cautioning,  but  you  will  un- 
doubtedly meet  some  one  who  does,  therefore  I  give  them  to  you, 
as  follows : 

"  Put  tips  and  second-joints  large  end  down  in  sack. 

"  Straighten  each  joint  of  wood  rods  after  use. 

'  *  Never  twist  your  rod  in  putting  it  together  or  taking  it 
apart,  especially  a  bamboo  rod. 

"  Don't  tie  your  rod  up  too  tight  in  sack,  it  crooks  the  joints. 

''  Don't  put  a  rod  away  in  a  wet  sack. 

*'  Keep  rod  in  dry,  cool  place  when  not  in  use. 

"If  you  would  not  snap  your  flies  off,  treat  them  with  the 
utmost  gentleness  until  the  leader  and  snells  become  softened  by 
the  water." — C.  F.  Orvis. 

"  Long  woollen  stockings  reaching  midway  between  the  knee 
and  hip,  and  supported  by  elastic  side  garters  with  breeches  but- 
toning or  buckling  just  below  the  knee,  is  the  perfection  of  wad- 
ing costume." — Fitz  James  Fitch, 

"  When  I  come  to  rapids  I  cast  far  down  the  foaming  yeast  of 
waters  and  draw  my  dancing,  leaping  flies  swiftly  up  stream.  The 
water  throws  the  flies  hither  and  thither  in  the  most  natural  way, 
and  often  from  a  single  cast  in  such  a  place  I  have  three  trout 
on." — "  Ned  BunUine.^^ 


HOW  TO  CAST  A  FLY. 


BY 

SETH  GREEN. 


I  AM  asked  a  great  many  times  what  is  the  secret  of 
fly-casting  ?  There  are  three  principles.  First,  quick 
out  of  the  water ;  second,  give  the  line  time  to  straighten 
behind  you;  third,  throw.  I  will  explain  these  prin- 
ciples more  definitely. 

Kaise  your  rod  straight  up,  or  nearly  so,  the  inclina- 
tion being  backward ;  then  make  a  quick  stroke  for- 
ward. "When  you  take  the  line  from  the  water  it 
should  be  done  with  a  quick  jerk;  then  give  your  line 
time  to  straighten  behind  ;  then  give  it  the  same  stroke 
forward  that  you  did  to  get  it  out  of  the  water. 

Why  so  many  fail  in  fly-casting  is,  they  throw  the 
rod  backward  too  near  the  ground  behind  them,  and 
when  they  make  the  forward  stroke,  and  the  line  gets 
straightened  out,  it  is  some  distance  above  the  water 
and  kinks  back,  so  that  when  it  falls  upon  the  water 
it  lies  crooked,  and  is  some  distance  short  of  what  it 
would  have  been  if  it  had  struck  the  water  as  soon  as 
it  was  straightened  out. 

If  a  fish  should  strike  at  your  flies  at  this  time  you 
are  pretty  sure  to  miss  him.    By  never  throwing  your 


186  FISHING  WITH  THE  FLY, 

rod  back  more  than  to  a  slight  angle  from  the  perpendic- 
ular, and  making  the  stroke  forward;,  your  line  goes 
straight  out  and  the  flies  go  to  the  point  you  desire. 

Great  care  should  be  taken  when  you  have  thrown 
the  line  behind  you,  that  the  line  is  given  time  to 
straighten  before  making  the  stroke  forward.  I  have 
thrown  seventy  feet  of  line  against  a  strong  wind,  first, 
by  giving  my  rod  a  quick,  strong  back  stroke,  carrying 
my  rod  but  slightly  back  of  the  perpendicular,  and 
giving  my  line  time  to  straighten  behind  me,  then 
making  the  same  stroke  forward  that  I  did  to  get  it 
back  of  me. 

I  nearly  forgot  to  mention  that  it  is  more  important 
to  have  your  line  fit  your  rod  than  it  is  to  have  your 
coat  fit  your  back. 

You  may  think  it  strange  that  I  should  tell  you  three 
or  four  times  over  in  the  same  article,  that  in  order  to 
do  good  fly-casting  you  must  throw  your  rod  back  only 
just  so  far,  and  then  wait  for  your  line  to  straighten 
behind  you  ;  and  when  your  line  is  straight,  to  make  a 
quick  stroke  forward,  without  carrying  your  rod  for- 
ward, even  a  little,  before  delivering  your  line,  but 
these  movements  are  the  essential  principles  in  fly- 
casting.  By  observing  them  one  may  hope  to  be- 
come a  skilful  fly-caster. 


TEOUT  : 

MEETING  THEM  ON  THE  "  JUNE  BISEJ*^ 

BY 

"  NESSMUK." 


There  is  a  spot  where  plumy  pines 
O'erhang  the  sylvan  banks  of  Otter  ; 

Where  wood -ducks  build  among  the  vines 
That  bend  above  the  crystal  water. 

And  there  the  blue-jay  makes  her  nest, 

In  thickest  shade  of  water  beeches ; 
The  fish-hawk,  statuesque  in  rest, 

Keeps  guard  o'er  glassy  pools  and  reaches. 

*Tis  there  the  deer  come  down  to  drink, 
From  laurel  brakes  and  wooded  ridges  ; 

The  trout,  beneath  the  sedgy  brink, 
Are  sharp  on  ship-wrecked  flies  and  midges. 

Akd  of  the  scores  of  mountain  trout-streams  that  I 
have  fished,  the  Otter  is  associated  with  the  most  pleas- 
ing memories. 

It  is,  or  was,  a  model  trout-stream ;  a  thing  to  draam 
of.     Having  its  rise  withia  three  miles  of  the  village, 


L 


188  FISHING  WITH  THE  FLY, 

it  meandered  southward  for  ten  miles  through  a  moun- 
tain valley  to  its  confluence  with  the  second  fork  of 
Pine  Creek,  six  miles  of  the  distance  being  through  a 
forest  without  settler  or  clearing. 

The  stream  was  swift,  stony,  and  exceptionally  free 
of  brush,  fallen  timber  and  the  usual  debris  that  is  so 
trying  to  the  angler  on  most  wooded  streams.  Then, 
it  was  just  the  right  distance  from  town.  It  was  so 
handy  to  start  from  the  village  in  the  middle  of  an 
afternoon  in  early  summer,  walk  an  hour  and  a  half  at 
a  leisurely  pace,  and  find  one's  self  on  a  brawling  brook 
where  speckled  trout  were  plenty  as  a  reasonable  man 
could  wish. 

Fishing  only  the  most  promising  places  for  a  couple 
of  miles  always  gave  trout  enough  for  supper  and 
breakfast,  and  brought  the  angler  to  the  '^  Trout- 
House,"  as  a  modest  cottage  of  squared  logs  was  called, 
it  being  the  last  house  in  the  clearings  and  owned  by 
good-natured  Charley  Davis,  who  never  refused  to  en- 
tertain fishermen  with  the  best  his  little  house  afforded. 
His  accommodations  were  of  the  narrowest,  but  also  of 
the  neatest,  and  few  women  could  fry  trout  so  nicely 
as  Mrs.  Davis.  True,  there  was  only  one  spare  bed, 
and,  if  more  than  two  anglers  desired  lodgings,  they 
were  relegated  to  the  barn,  with  a  supply  of  buffalo 
skins  and  blankets.  On  a  soft  bed  of  sweet  hay  this 
was  all  that  could  be  desired  by  way  of  lodgings,  with 
the  advantage  of  being  free  from  mosquitoes  and 
punkies.     The  best  of  rich,  yellow  butter  with  good 


MEETING  TROUT  ON  THE  ''JUNE  RISE:*    189 

bread  were  always  to  be  had  at  Charley's,  and  his 
charges  were  12|  cents  for  meals,  and  the  same  for 
lodging. 

The  two  miles  of  fishing  above  the  "  Trout-House  " 
led  through  clearings,  and  the  banks  were  much  over- 
gi'own  with  willows,  making  it  expedient  to  use  bait, 
or  a  single  fly.  I  chose  the  latter  ;  my  favorite  bug  for 
such  fishing  being  the  red  hackle,  though  I  am  obliged 
to  confess  that  the  fellow  who  used  a  white  grub  gener- 
ally beat  me. 

But  the  evening  episode  was  only  preliminary  ;  it 
meant  a  pleasant  walk,  thirty  or  forty  brook-trout  for 
supper  and  breakfast,  and  a  quiet  night's  rest.  The  real 
angling  commenced  the  next  morning  at  the  bridge, 
with  a  six-mile  stretch  of  clear,  cold,  rushing  water  to 
fish.  My  old-fashioned  creel  held  an  honest  twelve 
pounds  of  dressed  trout,  and  I  do  not  recollect  that  I 
ever  missed  filling  it,  with  time  to  spare,  on  that 
stretch  of  water.  Nor,  though  I  could  sometimes  fill 
it  in  a  forenoon,  did  I  ever  continue  to  fish  after  it  was 
full.  Twelve  pounds  of  trout  is  enough  for  any  but  a 
trout-hog. 

But  the  peculiar  phase  of  trout  lore  that  most  inter- 
ested me,  was  the  ''  run  "  of  trout  that  were  sure  to 
find  their  way  up  stream  whenever  we  had  a  flood  late 
in  May  or  the  first  half  of  June.  They  were  distinct 
and  different  from  the  trout  that  came  up  with  the 
early  spring  freshets.  Lighter  in  color,  deeper  in  body, 
with  smaller  heads,  and  better  conditioned  altogether. 


190  FIBBING  WITH  THE  FLY. 

They  could  be  distinguished  at  a  glance  ;  the  individ- 
uals of  any  school  were  as  like  as  peas  in  color  and  size, 
and  we  never  saw  them  except  on  a  summer  flood. 
The  natives  called  them  river  trout.  They  came  in 
schools  of  one  hundred  to  five  times  as  many,  just  as 
the  flood  was  subsiding,  and  they  had  a  way  of  halting 
to  rest  at  the  deep  pools  and  spring-holes  along  their 
route.  Lucky  was  the  angler  who  could  find  them  at 
rest  in  a  deep  pool,  under  a  scooped  out  bank,  or  at  the 
foot  of  a  rushing  cascade.  At  such  times  they  seemed 
to  lose  their  usual  shyness,  and  would  take  the  fly  or 
worm  indifferently,  until  their  numbers  were  reduced 
more  than  one-half.  To  "meet  them  on  the  June 
rise  "  was  the  ardent  desire  of  every  angler  who  fished 
the  streams  which  they  were  accustomed  to  ascend. 
These  streams  were  not  numerous.  The  First,  Second, 
and  Third  Forks  of  Pine  Creek,  with  the  Otter,  com- 
prised the  list  so  far  as  I  know.  And  no  man  could  be 
certain  of  striking  a  school  at  any  time ;  it  depended 
somewhat  on  judgment,  but  more  on  luck.  Two  or 
three  times  I  tried  it  on  the  Otter  and  missed  ;  while  a 
friend  who  had  the  pluck  and  muscle  to  make  a  ten-mile 
tramp  over  the  mountain  to  Second  Fork  took  forty 
pounds  of  fine  trout  from  a  single  school.  It  was  a  hog- 
gish thing  to  do ;  but  he  was  a  native  and  knew  no 
reason  for  letting  up. 

At  length  my  white  day  came  around.  There  was  a 
fierce  rain  for  three  days,  and  the  raging  waters  took 
mills,  fences  and  lumber  down  stream  in  a  way  to  be 


MKKTINU  TROUT  ON  TllH  ^JVNK  llimr     191 

romambered.  Luckily  it  ako  took  the  lumlx^riuau  tlu) 
sanu)  way,  and  left  few  imtivo  ttuglers  at  Uonw.  When 
tlie  waters  luui  subsided  to  at&ir  voluuie,  aud  the  streams 
lujui  still  a  susjucioii  of  uiilkiia>ss,  I  started  at  3  w  m. 
of  tt  lovely  June  afteruoou  for  tlw  Trout-House.  A» 
easy  two  hours  walk,  au  hour  of  delightful  angling, 
and  I  reaxilied  the  little  hostelry  with  three  dojjen  brook 
trout,  averaging  alwufc  geveii  inches  in  length  only,  but 
fre«h  and  sweet,  all  caught  on  a  single  red  hacklo, 
which  will  probably  renwin  my  favorite  bug  until  I  go 
over  the  lost  carry  (though  I  notice  it  luis  gone  well 
out  of  fashion  with  joxfA^m  anglers). 

A  siip|K*r  of  trout ;  an  evening  siu^h  as  niust  be  six  eu 
and  felt  to  l>e  appreciated  ;  trout  again  for  breakfast, 
irith  a  ^<i7m\  {)acked  for  lunch,  and  I  struck  in  at  the 
bridge  l>efore  sunrise  for  an  all  day  bout,  '*  to  meet  'em 
on  the  June  rise."  I  didn't  do  it,  I  took  the  entire 
d^y  to  whip  tliat  six  mile«  of  bright,  diishing  water,  I 
filled  a  twelve-jwund  creel  with  trout,  putting  bock 
everything  under  eight  inches.  I  put  back  more  tlian 
\  kept.  I  liod  one  of  tlie  most  enjoyable  ^"^^  of  n)y 
life  \  I  came  out  at  the  lower  bridge  after  sumix>wn — 
and  I  Iwd  not  seen  or  caught  one  fresh-run  m^t  trout. 
Tliey  were  all  tlie  slender,  large-moutlunl,  dark-mottled 
lish  of  tlic  gloomy  forest,  with  crimen  spot*  like  fresh 
drops  of  bloo<i.  But  I  was  not  discouraged.  \\aA  the 
trout  been  there  I  should  have  met  tljem,  I  walked 
lialf  a  niile  to  the  little  inn  at  Babb's,  selected  a  do/x»n 
of  my  best  fish  tot  sup^K  r  and  breakfast,  gave  away  tlw 


192  FISHING  WITH  THE  FLY. 

rest,  and,  tired  as  a  hound,  slept  the  sleep  of  the  just 
man. 

At  4  o'clock  the  next  morning  I  was  on  the  stream 
again,  feeling  my  way  carefully  down,  catching  a  trout 
at  eyery  cast,  and  putting  them  mostly  back  with  care, 
that  they  might  liye ;  but  for  an  hour  no  sign  of  a 
fresh-run  river  trout. 

Below  the  bridge  there  is  a  meadow,  the  oldest 
clearing  on  the  creek  ;  there  are  trees  scattered  about 
this  meadow  that  are  models  of  arborial  beauty,  black 
walnut,  elm,  ash,  birch,  hickory,  maple,  etc.  Most  of 
them  grand,  spreading  trees.  One  of  them,  a  large, 
umbrageous  yellow-birch,  stood  on  the  left  bank  of  the 
stream,  and  was  already  in  danger  of  a  fall  by 

"  The  swifter  current  that  mined  its  roots." 

It  was  here  I  met  them  on  the  June  rise. 

I  dropped  my  cast  of  two  flies  just  above  the  roots  of 
the  birch,  and  on  the  instant,  two  fresh-run,  silver- 
sided,  red-spotted  trout  immolated  themselves,  with  a 
generous  self-abnegation  that  I  shall  never  forget. 

Standing  there  on  that  glorious  June  morning,  I 
made  cast  after  cast,  taking,  usually,  two  at  each  cast. 
I  made  no  boyish  show  of  "inlaying"  them.  They 
were  lifted  out  as  soon  as  struck.  To  have  fooled  with 
them  would  have  tangled  me,  and  very  likely  have  scat- 
tered the  school. 

It  was  old-time  angling  ;  I  shall  not  see  it  again. 

My  cast  was  a  red  hackle  for  tail-fly,  with  something 


MEETING  TROUT  ON  THE  ''  JUNE  RISE."    193 

like  the  brown  hen  for  hand-fly.  I  only  used  two,  with 
four-foot  leader ;  and  I  was  about  the  only  angler  who 
used  a  fly  at  all  in  those  days,  on  these  waters. 

I  fished  about  one  hour.  I  caught  sixty-four  trout, 
weighing  thirteen  and  three  quarter  pounds.  I  caught 
too  many.  I  was  obliged  to  string  some  of  them,  as 
the  creel  would  not  hold  them  all.  But  my  head  was 
moderately  level.  When  I  had  caught  as  many  as  I 
thought  right  I  held  up  ;  and  I  said,  if  any  of  these 
natives  get  on  to  this  school,  they  will  take  the  last 
trout,  if  it  be  a  hundred  pounds.  And  they  will  salt 
them  down.  So  when  I  was  done,  and  the  fishing  was 
good  as  at  the  start,  I  cut  a  long  '^staddle,"  with  a 
bush  at  the  top,  and  I  just  went  for  that  school  of 
trout.  I  chevied,  harried  and  scattered  them,  up  stream 
and  down,  until  I  could  not  see  a  fish.  Then  I  packed 
my  duffle  and  went  to  the  little  inn  for  breakfast.  Of 
course  every  male  biped  was  anxious  to  know  "  where  I 
met  'em."  I  told  them  truly  ;  and  they  started,  man 
and  boy,  for  the  '^  Big  Birch,"  with  beech  rods,  stiff 
linen  lines,  and  a  full  stock  of  white  grubs. 

I  was  credibly  informed  afterward,  that  these  back- 
woods cherubs  did  not  succeed  in  **  Meeting  'em  on  the 
June  rise."  I  have  a  word  to  add,  which  is  not  impor- 
tant though  it  may  be  novel. 

There  is  a  roaring,  impetuous  brook  emptying  into 
Second  Fork,  called  "  Rock  Eun."  It  heads  in  a  level 
swamp,  near  the  summit  of  the  mountain.  The  swamp 
contains  about  forty  acres,  and  is  simply  a  level  bed  of 


194  FISnmO  WITH  THE  FLY. 

loose  stones,  completely  overgrown  with  bright  green 
moss. 

'^Rock  Run  ''  heads  in  a  strong,  ice-cold  spring,  but 
is  soon  sunken  and  lost  among  the  loose  stones  of  the 
swamp.  Just  where  the  immense  hemlocks,  that  make 
the  swamp  a  sunless  gloom,  get  their  foothold,  is  one 
of  the  things  I  shall  never  find  out.  But,  all  the  same, 
they  are  there.  And  '^  Rock  Run  "  finds  its  way  under- 
ground for  80  rods  with  never  a  ray  of  sunlight  to  il- 
lumine its  course.  Not  once  in  its  swamp  course  does 
At  break  out  to  daylight.  You  may  follow  it  by  its 
heavy  gurgling,  going  by  ear  ;  but  you  cannot  see  the 
water.  Now  remove  the  heavy  coating  of  moss  here 
and  there,  and  you  may  see  glimpses  of  dark,  cold 
water,  three  or  four  feet  beneath  the  surface.  Drop  a 
hook,  baited  with  angle-worm  down  these  dark  watery 
holes,  and  it  will  be  instantly  taken  by  a  dark,  crim- 
son-spotted specimen  of  simon  pure  Salmo  fontinalis. 
They  are  small,  four  to  six  inches  in  length,  hard, 
sweet ;  the  heau  ideal  of  mountain  trout.  Follow  this 
subterranean  brook  for  eighty  rods,  and  you  find  it 
gushing  over  the  mountain's  brink  in  a  cascade  that  no 
fish  could  or  would  attempt  to  ascend.  Follow  the 
roaring  brook  down  to  its  confluence  with  Second  Fork, 
and  you  will  not  find  one  trout  in  the  course  of  a  mile. 
The  stream  is  simply  a  succession  of  falls,  cascades,  and 
rapids,  up  which  no  fish  can  beat  its  way  for  one  hun- 
dred yards.  And  yet  at  the  head  of  this  stream  is  a 
subterranean  brook  stocked  with  the  finest  specimens 


MEETma  TROUT  ON  THE  "JUNE  RISE:*    195 

of  Sahno  fontinalis.  They  did  not  breed  on  the  moun- 
tain top.  They  cannot  ascend  the  stream.  Where  did 
they  originate  ?  When,  and  how  did  they  manage 
to  get  there  ?  I  leaye  the  questions  to  savans  and 
naturalists.  As  for  myself,  I  state  the  fact — still 
demonstrable — for  the  trout  are  yet  there.  But  I  take 
it  to  be  one  of  the  conundrums  "  no  fellah  can  ever 
find  out." 

P.  8. — ^A  word  as  to  bugs,  lures,  flies,  etc.  Now  I 
have  no  criticism  to  offer  as  regards  flies  or  lures.  I 
saw  a  Gotham  banker  in  1880,  making  a  cast  on  Third 
lake,  with  a  leader  that  carried  twelve fiies.  Why  not? 
He  enjoyed  it ;  and  he  caught  some  trout.  Even  the 
guides  laughed  at  him.  I  did  not :  he  rode  his  hobby, 
and  he  rode  it  well.  Fishing  beside  him,  with  a  five- 
dollar  rod,  I  caught  two  trout  to  his  one.  What 
did  he  care  ?  He  came  out  to  enjoy  himself  after 
his  own  fashion,  and  he  did  it.  Like  myself,  he  only 
cared  for  the  sport — the  recreation  and  enough  trout 
for  supper.     (I  cannot  cast  twelve  flies.) 

Now  my  favorite  lures — with  forty  years'  experience 
— stand  about  thus.  Tail  fly,  red  hackle ;  second, 
brown  hen ;  third,  Romeyn.  Or,  tail  fly,  red  ibis  ; 
second,  brown  hackle  ;  third,  queen  of  the  waters.  Or, 
red  hackle,  queen,  royal  coachman.  Sometimes  trout 
will  not  rise  to  the  fly.  I  respect  their  tastes.  I  use  then 
— ^tail  fly,  an  angle  worm,  with  a  bit  of  clear  pork  for 
the  head,  and  a  white  miller  for  second.     If  this  fails  I 


196  FISHING  WITH  THE  FLY, 

go  to  camp  and  sleep.  I  am  not  aboye  worms  and 
grubs,  but  prefer  the  flj.  And  I  take  hut  what  I  need 
for  present  use.  Can  all  brother  anglers  say  the 
same  ? 


TROUT      FILIES. 


Made  by  C.F.ORYIS.  Manchester. Vt 


CO  PYR I O  H  T£  D 


"It  has  so  happened  that  all  the  public  services  that  I  have 
rendered  in  the  world,  in  my  day  and  generation,  have  been  con- 
nected with  the  general  government.  I  think  I  ought  to  make 
an  exception.  I  was  ten  days  a  member  of  the  Massachusetts 
Legislature,  and  I  turned  my  thoughts  to  the  search  of  some 
good  object  in  which  I  could  be  useful  in  that  position ;  and  after 
much  reflection  I  introduced  a  bill  which,  with  the  consent  of 
both  houses  of  the  Legislature,  passed  into  a  law,  and  is  now  a 
law  of  the  State,  which  enacts  that  no  man  in  the  State  shall 
catch  trout  in  any  manner  than  in  the  old  way,  with  an  ordinary 
hook  and  line." — Daniel  Webster. 

*'  If  you  do  not  know  a  river  it  is  always  most  desirable  to  have 
someone  with  you  who  does." — Fi'ancis  Frauds. 


49.  The  TeaL  50.  Reuben  Wood.  51.  Red  Spinner. 

52.  No.  68.  53.  Hawthorne.  54.  Dorset. 

55.  Widow.  56.  Grasshopper.  57.  Stebbins. 

58.  March  Brown.  59.  Shoemaker.  60.  Orange  Black. 

61.  King    of   the  62.  Gen.  Hooker.  63.  Gray  Drake. 
Water. 

**  The  angler  atte  the  leest,  hath  his  holsom  walke,  and  mery 
at  his  ease,  a  swete  ayre  of  the  swete  savoure  of  the  mede  floures, 
that  makyth  him  hungry  ;  he  hereth  the  melodyous  armony  of 
fowles ;  he  seeth  the  yonge  swannes,  heerons,  duckes,  cotes,  and 
many  other  fowles,  wyth  theyr  brodes ;  whyche  me  semyth  better 
than  alle  the  noyse  of  houndys,  the  blastes  of  hornys,  and  the 
scrye  of  foulis,  that  hunters,  fawkeners,  and  fowlers  can  make. 
And  if  the  angler  take  fysshe  ;  surely,  thenne,  is  there  noo  man 
merier  than  he  is  in  his  spyryte." — Dame  Juliama  Bemers. 

"  Skill,  and  trained  skill  at  that,  does  the  good  work,  and  the 
angler's  score  is  just  in  proportion  to  his  knowledge  of  *  how  to 
doiV"~Wm.  aMarris. 


"A  gray-haired  bait-fisher  is  very  rare,  while  the  passion  for 
fly-casting,  whether  for  trout  or  salmon,  grows  by  what  it  feeds 
upon,  and  continues  a  source  of  the  highest  pleasure  even  after 
the  grasshopper  becomes  a  burden." — George  Dawson. 

"  It  is  not  the  number  of  fish  he  captures  that  makes  the  angler 
contented,  for  the  true  angler  can  enjoy  the  mere  casting  of  the 
fly  if  he  has  only  an  occasional  fish  to  reward  his  efforts." — 
''Random  Casts." 

"  The  great  charm  of  fly-fishing  for  trout  is  derived  from  the 
fact  that  you  then  see  the  movements  of  your  fish,  and  if  you  are 
not  an  expert  hand,  the  chances  are  that  you  will  capture  but  one 
out  of  the  hundred  that  may  rise  to  your  hook.  You  can  seldom 
save  a  trout  unless  you  strike  the  very  instant  that  he  leaps.  The 
swiftness  with  which  a  trout  can  dart  from  his  hiding-place  after 
a  fly  is  truly  astonishing  ;  and  we  never  see  one  perform  this 
operation  without  feeling  an  indescribable  thrill  quivering  through 
our  tra.me.^'— Charles  Lanman. 

'  **  There  is  nothing  grovelling  in  fly-fishing — nothing  gross  or 
demoralizing." — Charles  Eallock. 

"Angling  is  a  maist  innocent,  poetical,  moral  and  religious 
amusement.  Gin  I  saw  a  fisher  gruppin  creelfu'  after  creelfu'  o* 
trouts,  and  then  flingin'  them  a'  awa  among  the  heather  and  the 
brackens  on  his  way  hame,  I  micht  begin  to  suspec  that  the 
idiot  was  by  nature  rather  a  savage.  But  as  for  me,  I  send 
presents  to  my  freens,  and  devour  dizzens  on  dizzens  every  week 
in  the  family— maistly  dune  in  the  pan,  wi'  plenty  o'  fresh  butter 
and  roun'  meal— sae  that  prevents  the  possibility  o'  cruelty  in 
my  fishin',  and  in  the  fishin'  o*  a'  reasonable  creatures."— e7ame« 
Hogg. 

"  People  that  have  not  been  inoculated  with  the  true  spirit 
may  wonder  at  the  infatuation  of  anglers— but  true  anglers  leave 
them  very  contentedly  to  their  wondering,  and  follow  their  diver- 
sions with  keen  delight." — WiUiam  Homtt. 


"WHY  PETER  WENT  A-FISHING." 


BY 

W.  C.  PRIME. 


Never  was  night  more  pure,  never  was  sea  more 
winning ;  never  were  the  hearts  of  men  moved  by- 
deeper  emotions  than  on  that  night  and  by  that  sea 
when  Peter  and  John,  and  other  of  the  disciples,  were 
waiting  for  the  Master. 

Peter  said,  "I  go  a-fishing."  John  and  Thomas, 
and  James  and  Nathanael,  and  the  others^  said,  "  We 
will  go  with  you,"  and  they  went. 

Some  commentators  have  supposed  and  taught  that, 
when  Peter  said,  *'  I  go  a-fishing,"  he  announced  the 
intention  of  returning  to  the  ways  in  which  he  had 
earned  his  daily  bread  from  childhood  ;  that  his  Master 
was  gone,  and  he  thought  that  nothing  remained  for 
him  but  the  old,  hard  life  of  toil,  and  the  sad  labor  of 
living. 

But  this  seems  scarcely  credible,  or  consistent  with 
the  circumstances.  The  sorrow  which  had  weighed 
down  the  disciples  when  gathered  in  Jerusalem  on  that 
darkest  Sabbath  day  of  all  the  Hebrew  story,  had  given 
way  to  joy  and  exultation  in  the  morning  when  the 
empty  tomb  revealed  the  hitherto  hidden  glory  of  the 


200  FISHING  WITH  THE  FLY. 

resurrection,  joy  which  was  ten-fold  increased  by  an 
interview  with  the  risen  Lord,  and  confirmed  by  his 
direction,  sending  them  into  Galilee  to  await  Him  there. 
And  thus  it  seems  incredible  that  Peter  and  John — 
John,  the  beloved — could  have  been  in  any  such  gloom 
and  despondency  as  to  think  of  resuming  their  old  em- 
ployment at  this  time,  when  they  were  actually  waiting 
for  His  coming,  who  had  promised  to  meet  them. 

Probably  they  were  on  this  particular  evening  weary 
with  earnest  expectancy,  yet  not  satisfied  ;  tired  of 
waiting  and  longing,  and  looking  up  the  hillside  on  the 
Jerusalem  road  for  His  appearance ;  and  I  have  no 
doubt  that,  when  this  weariness  became  exhausting, 
Peter  sought  on  the  water  something  of  the  old  excite- 
ment that  he  had  known  from  boyhood,  and  that  to  all 
the  group  it  seemed  a  fitting  way  in  which  to  pass  the 
long  night  before  them,  otherwise  to  be  weary  as  well 
as  sleepless. 

If  one  could  have  the  story  of  that  night  of  fishing, 
of  the  surrounding  scenes,  the  conversation  in  the 
boat,  the  unspoken  thoughts  of  the  fishermen,  it  would 
make  the  grandest  story  of  fishing  that  the  world  has 
ever  known.  Its  end  was  grand  when  in  the  morning 
the  voice  of  the  Master  came  over  the  sea,  asking  them 
the  familiar  question,  in  substance  the  same  whicli  they, 
like  all  fishermen,  had  heard  a  thousand  times,  '^Have 
you  any  fish  ?" 

SfC  ^  ^  ^  •!•  •!€ 

The  memory  of  this  scene  is  not  unfitting  to  the 


WHY  PETER  WENT  A-FISHING.  201 

modern  angler.  Was  it  possible  to  forget  it  wlien  I 
first  wet  a  line  in  the  water  of  the  Sea  of  Galilee  ?  Is 
it  any  less  likely  to  come  back  to  me  on  any  lake  among 
the  hills  when  the  twilight  hides  the  mountains,  and 
overhead  the  same  stars  look  on  our  waters  that  looked 
on  Gennesaret,  so  that  the  soft  night  air  feels  on  one's 
forehead  like  the  dews  of  Hermon  ? 

I  do  not  think  that  this  was  the  last,  though  it  be 
the  last  recorded  fishing  done  by  Peter  or  by  John.  I 
don't  believe  these  Galilee  fishermen  ever  lost  the  love 
for  their  old  employment.  It  was  a  memorable  fact  for 
them  that  the  Master  had  gone  a-fishing  with  them  on 
the  day  that  He  called  them  to  be  His  disciples ;  and 
this  latest  meeting  with  Him  in  Galilee,  the  commis- 
sion to  Peter,  "Feed  my  sheep,"  and  tlie  words  so 
startling  to  John,  "If  I  will  that  he  tarry  till  I 
come," — words  which  He  must  have  recalled  when  He 
uttered  that  last  longing  cry,  "Even  so  come.  Lord" 
— all  these  were  associated  with  that  last  recorded  fish- 
ing scene  on  the  waters  of  Gennesaret. 

Fishermen  never  lose  their  love  for  the  employment, 
and  it  is  notably  true  that  the  men  who  fish  for  a  liv- 
ing love  their  work  quite  as  much  as  those  who  fish  for 
pleasure  love  their  sport.  Find  an  old  fisherman,  if 
you  can,  in  any  sea-shore  town,  who  does  not  enjoy  his 
fishing.  There  are  days,  without  doubt,  when  he  does 
not  care  to  go  out,  when  he  would  rather  that  need  did 
not  drive  him  to  the  sea  ;  but  keep  him  at  home  a  few 
days,  or  set  him  at  other  labor,  and  you  shall  see  that  he 


202  FISHma  WITH  THE  FLY, 

longs  for  the  toss  of  the  swell  on  the  reef,  and  the  sud- 
den joy  of  a  strong  pull  on  his  line.  Drift  up  along 
side  of  him  in  your  boat  when  he  is  quietly  at  his  work, 
without  his  knowing  that  you  are  near.  You  can  do  it 
easily.  He  is  pondering  solemnly  a  question  of  deep 
importance  to  him,  and  he  has  not  stirred  eye,  or  hand, 
or  head  for  ten  minutes.  But  see  that  start  and  sharp 
jerk  of  his  elbow,  and  now  hear  him  talk,  not  to  you — 
to  the  fish.  He  exults  as  he  brings  him  in,  yet  mingles 
his  exultation  with  something  of  pity  as  he  baits  his 
hook  for  another.  Could  you  gather  the  words  that  he 
has  in  many  years  flung  on  the  sea  winds,  you  would 
have  a  history  of  his  life  and  adventures,  mingled 
with  yery  much  of  his  inmost  thinking,  for  he  tells 
much  to  the  sea  and  the  fish  that  he  would  never  whisper 
in  human  ears.  Thus  the  habit  of  going  a-fishing  always 
modifies  the  character.  The  angler,  I  think,  dreams  of 
his  favorite  sport  of tener  than  other  men  of  theirs. 

There  is  a  peculiar  excitement  in  it,  which  perhaps 
arises  from  somewhat  of  the  same  causes  which  make 
the  interest  in  searching  for  ancient  treasures,  opening 
Egyptian  tombs  and  digging  into  old  ruins.  One  does 
not  know  what  is  under  the  surface.  There  may  be 
something  or  there  may  be  nothing.  He  tries,  and  the 
rush  of  something  startles  every  nerve.  Let  no  man 
laugh  at  a  comparison  of  trout-fishing  with  antiquarian 
researches.  I  know  a  man  who  has  done  a  great  deal 
of  both,  and  who  scarcely  knows  which  is  the  most 
absorbing  or  most  remunerating ;  for  -  each  enriches 


WHY  PETER  WENT  A-FISHING.  203 

mind  and  body,  each  gratifies  the  most  refined  taste, 
each  l;>ecomes  a  passion  unless  the  pursuer  guard  his 
enthusiasm  and  moderate  his  desire. 

5jC  ^  ^  ^  ^  5JC 

To  you,  my  friend,  who  know  nothing  of  the  gentle 
and  purifying  association  of  the  angler's  life,  these  may 
seem  strange  notions — to  some,  indeed,  they  may  even 
sound  profane.  But  the  angler  for  whom  I  write  will 
not  so  think  them,  nor  may  I,  who,  thinking  these  same 
thoughts,  have  cast  my  line  on  the  sea  of  Galilee,  and 
taken  the  descendants  of  old  fish  in  the  swift  waters 
of  the  Jordan. 

Trout  fishing  is  employment  for  all  men,  of  all  minds. 
It  tends  to  dreamy  life,  and  it  leads  to  much  thought 
and  reflection.  I  do  not  know  in  any  book  or  story  of 
modern  times  a  more  touching  and  exquisite  scene  than 
that  which  Mrs.  Gordon  gives  in  her  admirable  biogra- 
phy of  her  father,  the  leonine  Christopher  North,  when 
the  feeble  old  man  waved  his  rod  for  the  last  time  over 
the  Dochart,  where  he  had  taken  trout  from  his  boy- 
hood. Shall  we  ever  look  upon  his  like  again  ?  He 
was  a  giant  among  men  of  intellectual  greatness.  Of  all 
anglers  since  apostolic  days,  he  was  the  greatest ;  and 
there  is  no  angler  who  does  not  look  to  him  with 
veneration  and  love,  while  the  English  language  will 
forever  possess  higher  value  that  he  has  lived  and 
written.  It  would  be  thought  very  strange  were  one  to 
say  that  Wilson  would  never  have  been  half  the  man  he 
was  were  he  not  an  angler.     But  he  would  have  said  so 


204  FISHING  WITH  THE  FLY, 

himseK,  and  I  am  not  sure  but  lie  did  say  so,  and, 
whether  he  did  or  not,  I  have  no  doubt  of  the  truth  of 
the  saying. 

It  has  happened  to  me  to  fish  the  Dochart,  from  the 
old  inn  at  Luib  down  to  the  bridge,  and  the  form  of  the 
great  Christopher  was  forever  before  me  along  the  bank, 
and  in  the  rapids,  making  his  last  casts  as  Mrs.  Gordon 
here  so  tenderly  describes  him  : 

"Had  my  father  been  able  to  endure  the  fatigue,  we  too 
would  have  had  something  to  boast  of,  but  he  was  unable  to  do 
more  than  loiter  by  the  river-side,  close  in  the  neighborhood  of 
the  inn — never  without  his  rod.     *    *    * 

'*  How  now  do  his  feet  touch  the  heather  ?  Not,  as  of  old, 
with  a  bound,  but  with  slow  and  unsteady  step,  supported  on 
the  one  hand  by  his  stick,  while  the  other  carries  his  rod.  The 
breeze  gently  moves  his  locks,  no  longer  glittering  with  the  light 
of  life,  but  dimmed  by  its  decay.  Yet  are  his  shoulders  broad 
and  unbent.  The  lion-like  presence  is  somewhat  softened  down, 
but  not  gone.  He  surely  will  not  venture  into  the  deeps  of  the 
water,  for  only  one  hand  is  free  for  a  '  cast,'  §Lnd  those  large 
stones,  now  slippery  with  moss,  are  dangerous  stumbling-blocks 
in  the  way.  Besides,  he  promised  his  daughters  he  would  not 
wade,  but,  on  the  contrary,  walk  quietly  with  them  by  the 
river's  edge,  there  gliding  '  at  its  own  sweet  will.'  Silvery  band 
of  pebbled  shore  leading  to  loamy  colored  pools,  dark  as  the 
glow  of  a  southern  eye,  how  could  he  resist  the  temptation  of 
near  approach  ?  In  he  goes,  up  to  the  ankles,  then  to  the  knees, 
tottering  every  other  step,  but  never  falling.  Trout  after  trout 
he  catches,  small  ones  certainly,  but  plenty  of  them.  Into  his 
pocket  with  them  all  this  time,  manceuvering  in  the  most  skilful 
manner  both  stick  and  rod  ;  until  weary,  he  is  obliged  to  rest  on 
the  bank,  sitting  with  his  feet  in  the  water,  laughing  at  his 


WRY  PETER  WEKT  A-FISHING.  205 

daughters'  horror,  and  obstinately  continuing  the  sport  in  spite 
of  all  remonstrance.  At  last  he  gives  in  and  retires.  Wonder- 
ful to  say,  he  did  not  seem  to  suffer  from  these  imprudent 
liberties." 

And  Mrs.  Gordon  gives  us  another  exquisite  picture 
in  the  very  last  day  of  the  grand  old  Christopher : 

*  *  *  ''And  then  he  gathered  around  him,  when  the  spring 
mornings  brought  gay  jets  of  sunshine  into  the  little  room  where 
he  lay,  the  relics  of  a  youthful  passion,  one  that  with  him  never 
grew  old.  It  was  an  affecting  sight  to  see  him  busy,  nay,  quite 
absorbed  with  the  fishing  tackle  scattered  about  his  bed,  propped 
up  with  pillows — his  noble  head,  yet  glorious  with  its  flowing 
locks,  carefully  combed  by  attentive  hands,  and  falling  on  each 
side  of  his  unfaded  face.  How  neatly  he  picked  out  each  ele- 
gantly dressed  fly  from  its  little  bunch,  drawing  it  out  with 
trembling  hand  along  the  white  coverlet,  and  then  replacing  it 
in  his  pocket-book,  he  would  tell  ever  and  anon  of  the  streams  he 
used  to  fish  in  of  old,  and  of  the  deeds  he  had  performed  in  his 
childhood  and  youth. " 

There  is  no  angler  who  will  not  appreciate  the  beauty 
of  these  pictures,  and  I  do  not  believe  any  one  of  us, 
retaining  his  mental  faculties,  will  fail,  in  extremest 
age,  to  recall  with  the  keenest  enjoyment,  of  which 
memory  is  capable,  the  scenes  of  our  happiest  sport. 

Was  Peter  less  or  more  than  man  ?  Was  John  not  of 
like  passions  with  ourselves  ?  Believe  me,  the  old  dwel- 
ler on  Patmos,  the  old  Bishop  of  Ephesus,  lingering 
between  the  memories  of  his  Lord  in  Galilee  and  the 
longing  for  Him  to  come  quickly  yet  again,  saw  often 
before  his  dim  eyes  the  ripple  on  Gennesaret  and  the 


206  FISnmo  WITH  THE  FLX. 

flashing  scales  of  the  silver  fish  that  had  gladdened  him 
many  a  time  before  he  knew  the  Master. 

It  is  one  of  the  most  pleasant  and  absorbing  thoughts 
which  possess  the  traveller  in  those  regions,  that  the 
child  Christ  was  a  child  among  the  hills  of  Galilee, 
and  loved  them  with  all  the  gentle  fervor  of  his  human 
soul.  Doubtless  many  times  before  He  had  challenged 
the  fisher  on  the  sea  with  that  same  question  which  we 
anglers  so  frequently  hear,  ' '  Have  you  taken  any  fish  ?  " 
He  may  have  often  seen  Peter  and  the  others  at  their 
work.  Perhaps  sometimes  He  had  talked  with  them, 
and,  it  may  well  be,  gone  with  them  on  the  sea,  and 
helped  them.  For  they  were  kindly  men,  as  fishermen 
are  always  in  all  countries,  and  they  loved  to  talk  of  their 
work,  and  of  a  thousand  other  things,  of  which,  in  their 
contemplative  lives,  they  had  thought  without  talking. 

In  an  age  when  few  men  were  learned,  and,  in  fact, 
few  in  any  grade  or  walk  of  life  could  even  read  or 
write,  I  am  inclined  to  think  there  was  no  class  from 
whom  better  trained  intellects  could  be  selected  than 
from  among  these  thoughtful  fishermen.  They  had 
doubtless  the  Oriental  characteristics  of  calmness  and 
reserve,  and  these  had  been  somewhat  modified  by  their 
employment.  Given  to  sober  reflection,  patient  to  in- 
vestigate, quick  to  trust  when  their  faith  was  demanded 
by  one  whom  they  respected,  slow  to  act  when  haste 
was  not  necessary,  prompt  and  swift  on  any  emergency, 
filled  full  of  love  for  nature,  all  harsh  elements  of 
character  softened  into  a  deep  benevolence  and  pity  and 


WHY  PETEH  WENT  A-FISHINO.  207 

love — such  are  the  fishermen  of  our  day,  and  such,  I 
doubt  not,  were  the  fishermen  of  old.  They  were 
men  with  whom  a  mother  would  willingly  trust  her 
young  boy,  to  whom  he  would  become  attached,  with 
whom  he  would  enjoy  talking,  and,  above  all,  who 
would  pour  out  their  very  souls  in  talking  with  him, 
when  among  their  fellow-men  they  would  be  reserved, 
diffident,  and  silent.  They  were  men,  too,  who  would 
recognize  in  the  boy  the  greatness  of  his  lineage,  the 
divine  shining  out  from  his  eyes.  Who  shall  prevail  to 
imagine  the  pleasantness  of  those  days  on  the  sea  when 
Peter  and  John  talked  with  the  holy  boy,  as  they 
waited  for  the  fish,  and  their  boat  rocked  to  the  winds 
that  came  down  from  Lebanon.  Who  can  say  that 
there  were  not  some  memories  of  those  days,  as  well  as 
of  the  others  when  we  know  Christ  was  with  him, 
which,  when  he  was  tired  of  the  waiting,  led  Peter  to 
say,  "  I  go  a-fishing  !" 

I  believe  that  he  went  a-fishing  because  he  felt  exactly 
as  I  have  felt,  exactly  as  scores  of  men  have  felt  who 
knew  the  charm  of  the  gentle  art,  as  we  now  call  it. 
No  other  has  such  attraction.  Men  love  hunting,  love 
boating,  love  games  of  varied  sorts,  love  many  amuse- 
ments of  many  kinds,  but  I  do  not  know  of  any  like 
fishing  to  which  men  go  for  relief  in  weariness,  for  rest 
after  labor,  for  solace  in  sorrow.  I  can  well  under- 
stand how  those  sad  men,  not  yet  fully  appreciating 
the  grand  truth  that  their  Master  had  risen  from  the 
dead,  believing ;  yet  doubting,  how  even  Thomas,  who 


208  FISHING  WITH  THE  FLY, 

had  so  lately  seen  the  wounds  and  heard  the  voice;  how 
even  John,  loving  and  loved,  who  had  rejoiced  a  week 
ago  in  Jerusalem  at  the  presence  of  the  triumphant 
Lord ;  how  Peter,  always  fearful ;  how  Nathanael,  full 
of  impulsive  faith,  how  each  and  all  of  them,  wearied 
with  their  long  waiting  for  Him  on  the  shore  of  the 
sea,  sought  comfort  and  solace,  opportunity  and  incite- 
ment to  thought  in  going  a-fishing. 

I  can  understand  it,  for,  though  far  be  it  from  me  to 
compare  any  weariness  or  sorrow  of  mine  with  theirs, 
I  have  known  that  there  was  no  better  way  in  which  I 
could  find  rest. 

I  have  written  for  lovers  of  the  gentle  art,  and  if  this 
which  I  have  written  fall  into  other  hands,  let  him 
who  reads  understand  that  it  is  not  for  him.  We  who 
go  a-fishing  are  a  peculiar  people.  Like  other  men  and 
women  in  many  respects,  we  are  like  one  another,  and 
like  no  others,  in  other  respects.  We  understand  each 
other's  thoughts  by  an  intuition  of  which  you  know 
nothing.  So  closely  are  we  alike  in  some  regards,  so 
different  from  the  rest  of  the  world  in  these  respects, 
and  so  important  are  these  characteristics  of  mind  and 
of  thought,  that  I  sometimes  think  no  man  but  one  of 
us  can  properly  understand  the  mind  of  Peter,  or  ap- 
preciate the  glorious  visions  of  the  son  of  Zebedee. 


FROM  "  GAME  FISH  OF  THE  NORTH." 

BY 

R.  B.  ROOSEVELT. 


There  are  innumerable  rules  applicable  to  trout- 
fishing,  and  innumerable  exceptions  to  each ;  neither 
man  nor  fish  is  infallible.  A  change  of  weather  is 
always  desirable  ;  if  it  has  been  clear,  a  rainy  day  is 
favorable  ;  if  cold,  a  warm  one ;  if  the  wind  has  been 
north,  a  southerly  one  is  advantageous ;  a  zephyr  if 
it  has  been  blowing  a  tornado.  Generally,  in  early 
spring,  amid  the  fading  snows  and  blasts  of  winter,  a 
warm  day  is  very  desirable  ;  later,  in  the  heats  of  sum- 
mer, a  cold,  windy  day  will  insure  success.  Dead  calm 
is  dangerous,  although  many  trout  are  taken  in  water 
as  still,  clear  and  transparent  as  the  heavens  above. 
The  first  rule  is  never  to  give  up  ;  there  is  hardly  a 
day  but  at  some  hour,  if  there  be  trout,  they  will  rise, 
and  steady,  patient  industry  disciplines  the  mind  and 
invigorates  the  muscles.  A  southerly,  especially  a 
south-easterly  wind,  has  a  singular  tendency  to  darken 
the  surface,  and  in  clear,  fine  waters  is  particularly 
advantageous ;  a  south-wester  comes  next  in  order ;  a 
north-easter,  in  which,  by-the-by,  occasionally  there  is 
great  success,  is  the  next ;  and  a  north-wester  is  the 


210  FISEINO  WITH  THE  FLY. 

worst  and  dearest  of  all.  Give  me  wind  on  any  terms, 
a  southerly  wind,  if  I  can  have  it ;  but  give  me  wind. 
It  is  not  known  what  quality  of  wind  darkens  the 
water ;  it  may  be  a  haziness  produced  in  the  atmos- 
phere, although  with  a  cloudy  sky  the  water  is  often 
too  transparent ;  it  may  be  the  peculiar  character  of 
the  waves,  short  and  broken,  as  contra-distinguished 
from  long  and  rolling ;  but  the  fact  is  entitled  to  re- 
liance. 

Slight  changes  will  often  affect  the  fish.  On  one 
day  in  June,  in  the  writer's  experience,  after  having  no 
luck  until  eleven  o'clock,  the  trout  suddenly  com- 
menced rising,  and  kept  on  without  cessation,  scarcely 
giving  time  to  cast,  till  two,  when  they  as  suddenly 
stopped.  There  was  no  observable  change  in  the 
weather,  except  the  advent  of  a  slight  haze,  the  wind 
remaining  precisely  the  same.  I  was  much  disap- 
pointed, not  having  half  fished  the  ground,  and  being 
prevented,  by  the  numbers  that  were  taken,  from  cast- 
ing over  some  of  the  largest  fish  that  broke.  As  it 
was  I  caught  seventy  troufc  in  what  are  ordinarily  con- 
sidered the  worst  hours  of  the  day.  But  in  this  par- 
ticular, also,  the  same  rules  apply  as  to  the  warmth  of 
the  weather.  In  early  spring  it  is  useless  to  be  up 
with  the  lark,  even  supposing  such  a  bird  exists ;  no 
fish  will  break  water  till  the  sun  has  warmed  the  air ; 
but  in  summer,  the  dawn  should  blush  to  find  the 
sportsman  napping.  In  fact,  trout  will  not  rise  well 
unless  the  air  is  warmer  than  the  water.     They  do  not 


FROM  "  GAME  FISH  OF  TEE  NOBTEr        211 

like  to  risk  taking  cold  by  exposing  themselves  to  a 
sudden  draught. 

There  is  a  yery  absurd  impression  that  trout  will 
not  take  the  fly  early  in  the  season  ;  this  is  entirely  un- 
founded. As  soon  as  the  ice  disappears  they  will  be 
found  gambolling  in  the  salt-water  streams,  and  leap- 
ing readily  at  the  fly.  At  such  times,  on  lucky  days, 
immense  numbers  are  taken.  In  March  they  have  run 
up  the  sluice-ways  and  are  in  the  lower  ponds,  lying 
sullenly  in  the  deepest  water ;  then  is  the  Cowdung, 
politely  called  the  Dark  Cinnamon,  the  most  attractive 
fly.  In  April,  May  and  June  they  are  scattered,  and 
entrapped  by  the  Hackles,  Professor,  Ibis,  and  all  the 
medium-sized  flies.  In  July  and  August  they  have 
sought  the  head-waters  of  navigation,  the  cool  spring 
brooks,  and  hide  around  the  weeds  and  water-cresses, 
whence  the  midges  alone  can  tempt  them. 

Any  flies  will  catch  fisli,  cast  in  any  manner,  if  the 
fish  are  plenty  and  in  huinor  to  be  caught.  A  few 
feathers  torn  from  the  nearest  and  least  suspicious 
chicken,  and  tied  on  an  ordinary  hook  with  a  piece  of 
thread,  will  constitute  a  fly  in  the  imagination  of  a 
trout,  provided  he  follows,  as  he  sometimes  appears  to 
do,  the  advice  of  young  folks — shuts  his  eyes  and 
opens  his  mouth.  I  cannot  recommend  such  tackle, 
being  convinced  the  most  skilfully  made  is  the  best ; 
but  I  do  advise  simplicity  of  color. 

****** 

Good  luck,  that  synonym  for  all  the  virtues,  does 


212  FISHING  WITH  THE  FLY, 

not  depend  so  mucli  upon  the  kind  of  flies  as  the  skill 
in  casting,  and  a  poor  fly  lightly  cast  into  the  right 
spot  will  do  better  execution  than  the  best  fly  roughly 
cast  into  the  wrong  place.  The  lure  must  be  put 
where  the  fish  habit,  often  before  their  yery  noses,  or 
they  will  not  take  it ;  and  when  they  lie,  as  they  gen- 
erally do  in  running  streams,  in  the  deep  holes  under 
the  banks,  where  the  bushes  are  closest  and  cause  the 
densest  shade,  it  requires  some  skill  to  cast  properly 
into  the  exact  spot.  Sacrifice  everything  to  lightness 
in  casting ;  let  the  line  go  straight  without  a  kink  if 
you  can,  drop  the  fly  into  the  right  ripple  if  possible, 
but  it  must  drop  gently  on  the  surface  of  the  water. 
An  ugly  splash  of  a  clear  day  in  pure  water,  and  the 
prey  will  dart  in  every  direction,  and  the  angler's  hopes 
scatter  with  them. 

A  beginner  may  practice  a  certain  formula,  such  as 
lifting  the  line  with  a  wave  and  smart  spring,  swinging 
it  backward  in  a  half  circle,  and  when  it  is  directly  be- 
hind him,  casting  straight  forward  ;  ,but  as  soon  as  he 
has  overcome  the  rudimentary  principles,  he  should  cast 
in  every  manner,  making  the  tip  of  his  rod  cut  full  cir- 
cles, figure  eights,  and  all  other  figures,  behind  him, 
according  to  the  wind ;  bearing  in  mind,  however,  ever 
to  make  his  fly  drop  as  lightly  as  a  feather.  He  should 
use  his  wi'ist  mainly,  and  practice  with  each  hand,  and 
should  never  be  otherwise  than  ashamed  of  a  bungling 
cast,  though  he  be  alone,  and  none  but  the  fish  there  to 
despise  him.   If  the  line  falls  the  first  time  with  a  heart- 


FROM  "  GAME  FISH  OF  THE  NORTH."        213 

rending  splash,  all  in  a  tangle,  it  is  useless  to  make  the 
next  cast  properly.  The  fish  haye  found  out  the  trick, 
and  know  too  much  to  risk  their  necks  in  any  such 
noose. 

A  skilful  fisherman  can  cast  almost  any  length  of  line, 
but  practically,  fifty  feet,  counting  from  the  reel,  is  all 
that  can  be  used  to  advantage.  Some  English  books  say 
only  the  leader  [gut  links]  should  alight  in  the  water  ; 
but  this  is  nonsense,  for  at  least  one-half  the  line  must 
fall  into  the  water,  unless  the  fisherman  stand  on  a  high 
bank.  With  a  long  line,  the  difficulties  of  striking  and 
landing  the  fish  are  greatly  increased.  In  striking,  there 
is  much  slack  line  to  be  taken  up.  In  landing,  it  re- 
quires some  time  to  get  the  fish  under  control,  and  he  is 
apt  to  reach  the  weeds  or  a  stump. 

That  most  excellent  fisherman  and  learned  scholar. 
Dr.  Bethune,  in  his  edition  of  Walton,  Part  11. ,  page 
73,  says  that  candid  anglers  must  confess  that  nine  out 
of  ten  trout  hook  themselves.  This  may  be  so  in  streams 
teeming  with  fish,  where  a  dozen  start  at  once,  frantically 
striving  to  be  the  first ;  but  in  clear,  well-fished  streams, 
not  one  fish  in  a  thousand  will  hook  himself ;  and  on 
Long  Island,  an  angler  would  grow  gray  ere  he  fiUed 
his  basket  if  he  did  not  strike,  and  that  quickly.  Strik- 
ing, to  my  mind,  is  by  far  the  most  important  point,  and 
hundreds  of  fish  have  I  seen  escape  for  want  of  quick- 
ness. It  must  be  done  quickly  but  steadily,  and  not 
with  a  jerk,  as  the  latter  is  apt,  by  the  double  action  of 
the  rod,  to  bend  the  tip  forward,  and  loosen  instead  of 


214  FI8HING  WITH  THE  FLY. 

tightening  the  line.  There  are  days  when  fish  cannot 
be  struck,  although  they  are  rising  freely.  Whether 
they  are  playing  or  over-cautious,  I  never  could  deter- 
mine ;  whether  they  are  not  hungry,  or  the  water  is 
too  clear,  they  put  a  man's  capacities  at  defiance.  Their 
appearance  must  be  signalled  to  the  eye,  by  that  reported 
to  the  brain,  which  then  directs  the  nerves  to  command 
the  muscles  to  move  the  wrist ;  and  ere  this  complicated 
performance  is  completed,  the  fish  has  blown  from  his 
mouth  the  feathery  deception,  and  has  darted  back  to 
his  haunts  of  safety.  A  fish  will  occasionally  leap  up, 
seize  the  fly,  discover  the  cheat,  and  shaking  his  head, 
jump  several  feet  along  the  surface  of  the  water  to  rid 
his  mouth  of  it,  and  do  this  so  quickly  as  not  to  give  a 
quick  angler  time  to  strike.  How  often  fish  are  caught 
when  they  rise  the  second  time,  as  then  the  angler  is 
more  on  the  alert ;  whereas,  on  the  first  rise,  he  was  off 
his  guard  !  How  often  fish  rise  when  the  angler's  head 
is  turned  away  from  his  line,  or  when  he  is  busy  at  some- 
thing else,  and  how  rarely  are  they  caught !  In  my  ex- 
perience, it  is  so  great  a  rarity,  that  it  might  almost  be 
said  they  never  hook  themselves.  In  the  language  of 
youth,  the  only  hooking  they  do,  is  to  hook  off. 

Dr.  Bethune,  page  97,  says  the  rod  should  not  exceed 
one  pound  in  weight.  Indeed,  it  should  not ;  and  if  it 
does,  it  exemplifies  the  old  maxim,  so  far  as  to  have 
a  fool  at  one  end.  If  we  could  fish  by  steam,  a  rod 
exceeding  a  pound  and  measuring  over  fourteen  feet 
might  answer  well ;  but  in  these  benighted  days,  while 


FROM  "  GAME  FISH  OF  THE  NORTH:'        215 

wrists  are  of  bone,  muscles,  cartilages,  and  the  like,  the 
lighter  the  better.  A  rod — and  if  perfection  is  absolu- 
tely indispensable,  a  cedar  rod — of  eleven  or  twelve  feet, 
weighing  nine  or  ten  ounces,  will  catch  trout.  Cedar 
rods  can  only  be  obtained  in  America,  and  then  only  on 
compulsion  ;  but  this  wood  makes  the  most  elastic  rods 
in  the  world.  They  spring  instantly  to  every  motion  of 
the  hand,  and  never  warp.  They  are  delicate.  The  wood 
is  like  woman — cross-grained,  but  invaluable,  if  carefully 
treated.  "The  reel  should  be  a  simple  click,  never  a 
multiplier,  but  large-barrelled,  and  fastened  to  the  butt 
with  a  leather  strap.  The  line  silk,  covered  with  a  prep- 
aration of  oil,  tapered,  if  possible,  at  each  end,  and 
thirty  to  forty  yards  long.  The  basket — positive — a  fish 
basket ;  the  angler — comparative — a  fisherman. 

Thus  equipped,  go  forth  mildly,  approving  where  the 
writer's  opinions  coincide  with  yours,  simply  incredu- 
lous where  they  do  not. 

****** 

There  are  several  ways  of  landing  a  trout,  but  not  all 
equally  sportsmanlike.  Large  trout  may  be  gaffed  ; 
small  ones  landed  in  a  net ;  and  where  neitlier  of  these 
means  is  at  hand,  they  must  be  dragged  out  of  the 
water,  or  floated  up  among  the  bushes,  according  to  the 
taste  of  the  angler  and  the  strength  of  his  tackle. 

A  tyro  was  once  fishing  in  the  same  boat  with  me, 
using  bait,  when  he  struck  his  first  trout.  One  can 
imagine  how  entirely  misspent  had  been  his  previous 
existence,  when  it  is  said  he  had  never  taken  a  trout. 


216  FISnmG  WITH  THE  FLY, 

no,  nor  any  other  fisli,  before.  It  was  not  a  large  fish  ; 
such  luck  rarely  falls  to  the  share  of  the  beginner;  and 
in  spite  of  what  elderly  gentlemen  may  say  to  the  con- 
trary, an  ignorant  countryman,  with  his  sapling  rod 
and  coarse  tackle,  never  takes  the  largest  fish  nor  the 
greatest  in  quantity.  Were  it  otherwise,  sportsmen  had 
better  turn  louts,  and  tackle-makers  take  to  cutting 
straight  saplings  in  the  woods.  My  companion,  neyer- 
theless,  was  not  a  little  surprised  at  the  vigorous  rushes 
the  trout  made  to  escape,  but  his  line  being  strong  and 
rod  stiff,  he  steadily  reeled  him  in.  Great  was  the 
excitement ;  his  whole  mind  was  devoted  to  shortening 
the  line,  regardless  of  what  was  to  be  done  next.  We 
had  a  darkey  named  Joe  with  us,  to  row  the  boat  and 
land  the  fish,  and  our  luck  having  been  bad  during  the 
morning  he  was  delighted  with  this  turn  of  affairs,  and 
ready,  net  in  hand,  to  do  his  duty.  The  fish  was  being 
reeled  up  till  but  a  few  feet  of  the  line  remained  below 
the  top,  when  with  a  shout  of  "  land,  Joe,  land  him  !" 
my  companion  suddenly  lifted  up  his  rod,  carrying  the 
trout  far  above  our  heads.  There  it  dangled,  swaying 
to  and  fro,  bouncing  and  jumping,  while  the  agonized 
fisherman  besought  the  darky  to  land  him,  and  the 
latter,  reaching  up  as  far  as  he  could  with  the  net,  his 
eyes  starting  out  of  his  head  with  wonder  at  this  novel 
mode  of  proceeding,  came  far  short  of  his  object.  Never 
was  seen  such  a  sight ;  the  hopeless  despair  of  my  friend, 
the  eagerness  of  the  darky,  who  fairly  strove  to  climb 
the  rod  as  the  fish  danced  about  far  out  of  reach.  What 


FROM  '*GAME  FISH  OF  THE  NORTHS       217 

was  to  be  done  ?  The  line  would  not  render,  the  rod 
was  so  long  we  could  not  reach  the  tip  in  the  boat ;  and 
the  only  horrible  alternative  appeared  to  be  my  friend's 
losing  his  first  fish.  The  latter,  however,  by  this  re- 
markable course  of  treatment,  had  grown  peaceable  ■ 
and  when  he  was  dropped  back  into  the  water,  made 
but  feeble  efforts,  while  my  companion,  as  quietly  as  he 
could,  worked  out  his  line  till  he  could  land  him  like  a 
Christian.  Great  were  the  rejoicings  when  the  prize 
earned  with  so  much  anxiety  was  secured.  That  is  the 
way  not  to  land  a  trout. 

One  afternoon  of  a  very  boisterous  day,  I  struck  a  large 
fish  at  the  deep  hole  in  the  centre  of  Phillipse's  Pond,  on 
Long  Island.  He  came  out  fiercely,  and  taking  my  fly  as 
he  went  down,  darted  at  once  for  the  bottom,  which 
is  absolutely  covered  with  long,  thick  weeds.  The 
moment  he  found  he  was  struck  he  took  refuge  among 
them,  and  tangled  himself  so  effectually  that  I  could  not 
feel  him,  and  supposed  he  had  escaped.  By  carefully 
exerting  sufficient  force,  however,  the  weeds  were  loos- 
ened from  the  bottom,  and  the  electric  thrill  of  his 
renewed  motion  was  again  perceptible.  He  was  allowed 
to  draw  the  line  through  the  weeds  and  play  below 
them,  as  by  so  doing  they  would  give  a  little,  while  if 
confined  in  them  he  would  have  a  leverage  against  them, 
and  could,  with  one  vigorous  twist,  tear  out  the  hook. 
When  he  was  somewhat  exhausted,  the  question  as  to 
the  better  mode  of  landing  him  arose.  The  wind  was 
blowing  so  hard  as  to  raise  quite  a  sea,  which  washed 


218  FISHmG  WITS  THE  FLY. 

the  weeds  before  it  in  spite  of  any  strain  that  could  be 
exerted  by  the  rod,  and  drifted  the  boat  as  well,  render- 
ing the  latter  almost  unmanageable,  while  the  fish  was 
still  so  vigorous  as  to  threaten  every  moment  to  escape. 
I  besought  the  boatman,  who  was  an  old  hand,  and 
thoroughly  up  to  his  business,  to  drop  the  boat  down 
to  the  weeds  and  let  me  try  and  land  my  fish  with  one 
hand  while  holding  the  rod  with  the  other.  He  knew 
the  dangers  of  such  a  course,  and  insisted  upon  rowing 
slowly  and  carefully  for  shore  at  a  shallow  place  shel- 
tered from  the  wind,  although  I  greatly  feared  the 
liook  would  tear  out  or  the  rod  snap  under  the  strain 
of  towing  both  weeds  and  fish ;  once  near  shore,  he 
deliberately  forced  an  oar  into  the  mud  and  made  the 
boat  fast  to  it,  and  then  taking  up  the  net  watched 
for  a  favorable  chance.  He  waited  for  some  time, 
carefully  putting  the  weeds  aside  until  a  gleaming 
line  of  silver  glanced  for  a  moment  beneath  the  water, 
when  darting  the  net  down  he  as  suddenly  brought  it 
up,  revealing  within  its  folds  the  glorious  colors  of  a 
splendid  trout.  That  was  the  way  to  land  a  trout 
under  difficulties,  although  I  still  think  I  could  have 
done  it  successfully  by  myself. 

Generally  the  utmost  delicacy  should  be  shown  in 
killing  a  fish,  but  there  are  times  when  force  must  be 
exerted.  If  the  fish  is  making  for  a  stump,  or  even 
weeds,  he  must  be  stopped  at  any  reasonable  risk  of 
the  rod's  breaking  or  the  fly's  tearing  out.  A  stump  is 
the  most  dangerous  ;  one  turn  around  that  and  he  is 


FROM  "GAME  FISH  OF  THE  NORTH:*       219 

off,  leaving  your  flies  probably  in  a  most  inconvenient 
place  and  many  feet  below  the  surface  of  the  water. 
But  remember  the  oft -repeated  maxim  of  a  friend  of 
the  writer,  who  had  been  with  him  many  a  Joyous 
fishing  day,  *^  That  one  trout  hooked  is  worth  a  dozen 
not  hooked."  Small  trout  are  more  apt  to  escape  than 
large  ones,  because  the  skin  around  the  month  of  the 
latter  is  tougher.  With  either,  however,  there  is  risk 
enough.  The  hook  is  small,  and  often  takes  but  a 
slight  hold  ;  the  gut  is  delicate,  and  frequently  half 
worn  through  by  continual  casting.  Fish  are,  in  a 
majority  of  instances,  hooked  in  the  corner  of  the 
upper  jaw,  where  there  is  but  a  thin  skin  to  hold  them  ; 
by  long  continued  struggling  the  hole  wears  larger,  and 
finally,  to  the  agony  of  the  fisherman,  the  hook  slips 
out. 

Tliere  are  occasions  when  force  must  be  exerted,  and 
then  good  tackle  and  a  well-made  rod  will  repay  the 
cost.  At  dusk,  one  night,  I  cautiously  approached  the 
edge  of  a  newly  made  pond,  that  was  as  full  of  stumps 
as  of  fish,  both  being  about  the  extreme  limit,  and 
casting  into  the  clear  water  struck  a  fine  fish  of  three- 
quarters  of  a  pound.  Not  a  minute's  grace  did  he  re- 
ceive, but  I  lugged  and  he  fought,  and  after  a  general 
turmoil  I  succeeded  in  bringing  him  to  land,  in  spite  of 
weeds  and  stumps  and  twigs,  which  he  did  his  best  to 
reach.  The  same  was  done  with  seven  fish  after  a  loss 
of  only  three  flies  and  with  a  rod  that  weighed  orjy 
eight  ounces. 


220  FTSHING  WITH  THE  FLY. 

In  landing  a  fish  wait  till  he  is  pretty  well  exhausted, 
bring  his  mouth  above  water,  and  keep  it  there  till 
he  is  drawn  into  the  net,  and  warn  your  assistant  to 
remove  the  net  at  once  if  he  gets  his  head  down.  By 
diving  after  him  with  the  net  the  assistant  would  cer- 
tainly not  catch  the  fish  and  might  tangle  one  of  your 
other  flies.  The  fish  should  be  led  into  the  net,  and 
the  latter  kept  as  still  as  possible  ;  he  knows  as  well  as 
you  do  what  it  is  for,  and  if  his  attention  is  drawn  to 
it  will  dart  off  as  madly  as  ever. 

*  *  :|£  *  *  * 

The  trout  is  admitted  to  be  the  most  beautiful  of  all 
our  fish  ;  not  so  large  or  powerful  as  the  salmon,  he  is 
much  more  numerous,  abounding  in  all  the  brooks  and 
rivulets  of  our  Northern  States.  He  lives  at  our  very 
doors  ;  in  the  stream  that  meanders  across  yon  meadow, 
where  the  haymakers  are  now  busy  with  their  scythes, 
we  have  taken  him  in  our  early  days  ;  down  yonder  in 
that  wood  is  a  brook  filled  with  bright,  lively  little  fel- 
lows ;  and  away  over  there  we  know  of  pools  where 
there  are  splendid  ones.  Who  has  not  said  or  thought 
such  words  as  he  stood  in  the  bright  summer's  day 
under  the  grateful  shade  of  the  piazza  running  round 
the  old  country  house  where  he  j^layed — a  boy  ? 

He  does  not  make  the  nerves  thrill  and  tingle  like 
the  salmon,  he  does  not  leap  so  madly  into  the  air  nor 
make  such  fierce,  resolute  rushes  ;  he  has  not  the  silver 
sides,  nor  the  great  strength  ;  but  he  is  beautiful  as 
the  sunset  sky,  brave  as  bravery  itself,  and  is  our  own 


FROM  "GAME  FISH  OF  TEE  NORTH."       221 

home  darling.  How  he  flashes  upon  the  sight  as  he 
grasps  the  spurious  insect,  and  turns  down  with  a  quick 
little  slap  of  the  tail !  How  he  darts  hither  and  thither 
when  he  finds  he  is  hooked  !  How  persistently  he 
struggles  till  enveloped  in  the  net !  And  then  with 
what  heart-rending  sighs  he  breathes  away  his  life  ! 
Who  does  not  love  the  lovely  trout  ?  "With  eye  as  dee^ 
and  melting,  skin  as  rich  and  soft,  and  ways  as  wildly 
wilful  as  angelic  woman — who  loves  not  one  loves  not 
the  other.  "Who  would  not  win  the  one  cares  not  to 
win  the  other.  Strange  that  man  should  ^'kill  the 
thing  he  loves  ;"  but  if  to  possess  them  kills  them,  he 
must  kill.  If  women,  like  the  Ephemerm,  died,  as  they 
often  do,  in  their  love,  we  should  still  love  them.  Such 
is  man  ;  do  not  think  I  praise  him.  No  one  kills  fish 
for  the  pleasure  of  killing  ;  but  they  cannot  live  out  of 
water,  nor  we  in  it,  therefore  one  of  us  must  die. 

The  man  who  kills  to  kill,  who  is  not  satisfied  with 
reasonable  sport,  who  slays  unfairly  or  out  of  season, 
who  adds  one  wanton  pang,  that  man  receives  the  con- 
tempt of  all  good  sportsmen  and  deserves  the  felon's 
doom.     Of  such  there  are  but  few. 

We  seek  this,  our  favorite  fish,  in  early  spring,  when 
the  ice  has  just  melted,  and  the  cold  winds  remind 
one  forcibly  of  bleak  December,  and  when  we  find  him 
in  the  salt  streams,  especially  of  Long  Island  and 
Cape  Cod  ;  but  we  love  most  to  follow  him  in  the  early 
summer,  along  the  merry  streams  of  old  Orange,  or 
the  mountain  brooks  of  Sullivan  county;    where  the 


222  FISHING  WITH  THE  FLY. 

air  is  full  of  gladness,  and  the  trees  are  heayy  with 
foliage — where  the  birds  are  singing  on  every  bough, 
and  the  grass  redolent  of  violets  and  early  flowers. 
There  we  wade  the  cold  brooks,  leafy  branches  bowing 
us  a  welcome  as  we  pass,  the  water  rippling  over  the 
hidden  rocks,  and  telling  us,  in  its  wayward  way,  of 
the  fine  fish  it  carries  in  its  bosom.  With  creel  upon 
our  shoulder  and  rod  in  hand,  we  reck  not  of  the  hours, 
and  only  when  the  sinking  sun  warns  of  the  approach- 
ing darkness  do  we  seek,  with  sharpened  appetite,  the 
hospitable  country  inn,  and  the  comfortable  supper 
that  our  prey  will  furnish  forth. 

•I*  •»*  "I*  V  •!•  *l* 

There  is  no  fish  more  difficult  to  catch,  nor  that 
gives  the  true  angler  more  genuine  sport,  than  the 
trout.  His  capture  requires  the  nicest  tackle,  the 
greatest  skill,  the  most  complete  self-command,  the 
highest  qualities  of  mind  and  body.  The  arm  must  be 
strong  that  wields  the  rod,  the  eye  true  that  sees  the 
rise  ;  the  wrist  quick  that  strikes  at  the  instant ;  the 
judgment  good  that  selects  the  best  spot,  the  most 
suitable  fly,  and  knows  just  how  to  kill  the  fish.  A 
fine  temper  is  required  to  bear  up  against  the  loss  of 
a  noble  fish,  and  patient  perseverance  to  conquer  ill 
luck. 

Hence  it  is  that  the  fisherman  is  so  proud  of  his 
basket  of  a  dozen  half-pound  trout.  He  feels  that  any 
one  more  awkward  or  less  resolute  could  not  have  done 
so  well.      He  feels  conscious  that  he  does  not  owe  his 


FROM  ''GAME  FISH  OF  THE  NOBTHr       223 

success  to  mere  luck,  but  has  deserred  the  glory.  He 
feels  that  he  has  elevated  himself  by  the  very  effort. 
Do  not  suppose  I  mean  that  there  is  no  skill  in  other 
fishing ;  there  is  in  all,  even  in  catching  minnows  for 
bait,  but  most  of  all  in  trout-fishing. 


"It  is  well  to  have  in  your*  fly-books  a  little  of  everything, 
but  of  gray  and  brown  hackles,  coachmen  and  professors,  an 
abundance." — "  Bourgeois." 

"When  a  plump,  two-pound  trout  refuses  to  eat  a  tinselled, 
feathered  fraud,  I  am  not  the  man  to  refuse  him  something  more 
edible." — "  Nessmuk." 

"Many  of  what  are  considered  fancy  flies,  because  not  in 
standard  lists,  succeed  when  the  known  insect  is  uncared  for. " — 
Hewett  Wlieatley. 

"  The  best  imitations  can  scarcely  be  pronounced  good  until 
tested  by  the  fish." — Michael  Theakaton. 

"  The  traveller  fancies  he  has  seen  the  country.  So  he  has, 
the  outside  of  it  at  least ;  but  the  angler  only  sees  the  inside. 
The  angler  only  is  brought  close,  face  to  face  with  the  flower  and 
bird  and  insect  life  of  the  rich  river  banks,  the  only  part  of  the 
landscape  where  the  hand  of  man  has  never  interfered." — Charles 


"  The  editor  of  the  Angler^s  Souvenir^  from  a  praiseworthy  pride 
in  his  nominal  ancestors,  says  the  Saxon  race  were  called  Anglo, 
because  of  their  skill  with  the  angle." ~G.  W.  BetJiune,  D.D. 

"Vast  varieties  of  the  spinners,  beetles,  gnats,  midges,  etc., 
are  perpetually  ^progressing,  and  pouring  their  winged  progeny 
on  the  waters  daily  throughout  the  season,  making  ample  store 
and  choice  for  the  fish,  and  a  task  for  the  fly-fisher  to  discover 
and  imitate  the  fly  they  prefer." — Francis  M.  Walbran. 

'  *  The  single  hook  salmon  flies  have  been  abandoned  by  nearly 
all  experienced  Canadian  salmon  fishers.  The  double  hook  keeps 
its  hold  much  better  and  saves  many  fish  that  would  be  lost  with 
the  single  one.  Besides  we  consider  that  the  double-hook  fly 
floats,  or  rather,  holds  its  position  better  in  the  water  than  the 
single  hook,  for  no  salmon,  with  us,  will  take  the  fly  skipping  out 
of  the  water,  but  often  take  it  a  foot  or  more  below  the  surface. 
The  double-hook  fly  is  our  recognition  of  the  evolution  theory,  or 
doctrine,  in  the  "  survival  of  the  fittest." — Allan  Oilmour, 


TROUT      FLIES. 


Made  by  C.F.ORYIS,  Manchester, Vt. 


CO  PYR IG  HTED 


<*  That  we  are  wise  men,  I  shall  not  stoop  to  maintain,  but  that 
we  do  love  angling  we  are  assured  of,  and  therei9  we  know  that 
we  are  in  unison  with  very  many  greatly  wise  and  wisely  good 
men. " —  Thaddeus  Norris. 

"  The  true  angler  is  not  confined  to  fly-fishing,  as  many  imag- 
ine. When  the  fly  can  be  used  it  always  should  be  used,  but 
where  the  fly  is  impracticable,  or  where  fish  will  not  rise  to  it,  he 
is  a  very  foolish  angler  who  declines  to  use  bait." — W.  G.  Prime. 

*'  The  creative  power  of  genius  can  make  a  feather-fly  live,  and 
move,  and  have  being  ;  and  a  wisely  stricken  fish  gives  up  the 
ghost  in  transports."— "/.  Cypress,  Jr." 


64.  Jungle  Cock.         65.  Lake  Green.        66.  Jenny  Lind. 


04.  jungle  COCK.  05.  Laice  Lrree 
67.  Poor  Man's  Fly.  68.  Pheasant. 
70.  Morrison.  71.  Katy-did. 


74.  Caldwell. 


73.  Hoskins.  74.  Ualdwell. 

76.  Queen     of    the    77.  Olive  Gnat. 
Water. 


69.  Romeyn. 
72.  Claret. 
75.  Iron  Dun. 
78.  Brown  Coflin. 


'*  The  deftly-tossed  fly,  taking  wing  on  the  nerve  of  a  masterly 
cast,  will  drop  gracefully  far  out  in  the  stream  where  the  heavier 
gear  of  the  bait  rod  would  never  aspire  to  reach." — Charles  Hal- 
lock. 

**  Fly-fishing  may  well  be  considered  the  most  beautiful  of  all 
rural  sports." — "  Frank  Forester.'' 

"  To  be  a  perfect  trout  fisher,  to  my  mind,  a  man  should  follow 
no  other  branch  of  fishing.  It  spoils  his  hand  if  he  does.  I  my- 
self, from  the  practice  of  striking  so  hard  in  both  salmon,  pike 
and  other  fishing,  lose  numbers  of  fish  and  flies  in  the  course  of 
the  season  ;  and  what  makes  it  the  more  vexing  is  that  they  are 
nearly  always  the  best  and  heaviest  t&\i."— Francis  Francis. 


'*  If  a  pricked  trout  is  chased  into  another  pool,  he  will,  I  be- 
lieve, soon  again  take  the  artificial  fly." — Sir  Humphry  Davy. 

"  It  is  only  the  inexperienced  and  thoughtless  who  find  pleasure 
in  killing  fish  for  the  mere  sake  of  killing  them.  No  sportsman 
does  this." — W.  G.  Prime. 

"  We  persevered,  notwithstanding  the  storm,  and  got  our  hun- 
dred trout,  all  alive  and  active,  into  Lake  Salubria.  They  did 
not,  however,  multiply  as  we  hoped  they  would.  For  years  one 
would  hear  occasionally  of  a  great  trout  being  caught  in  the  lake, 
till  at  last  they  were  all  gone.  They  lacked  the  ripples  and  the 
running  water.  They  lived  to  be  old,  and  then  died  without 
progeny,  *  making  no  sign.' "— /S.  JI.  Hammond. 

**  The  trout  is  such  a  light  food,  that  eight  of  them,  some  ten 
inches  long,  will  not  make  a  supper  for  a  hearty  man,  leading  this 
wilderness  life." — ''Porte  Crayon.'*'' 

*'  I  believe  I  am  sincere  in  saying  that  I  enjoy  seeing  another 
man  throw  a  fly,  if  he  is  a  good  and  graceful  sportsman,  quite  as 
much  as  doing  it  myself."— IT.  G.  Prime. 

*'  I  was  content  with  my  one  glimpse,  by  twilight,  at  the  for- 
est's great  and  solemn  heart  ;  and  having  once,  alone,  and  in  such 
an  hour,  touched  it  with  my  own  hand  and  listened  to  its  throb, 
I  have  felt  the  awe  of  that  experience  evermore." — A.  Judd 
Northrwp. 

"  When  the  May-fly  is  full  on  the  water,  every  fish  in  the  river 
is  feeding."—  T.  C.  Hofland. 

"I  never  let  considerations  of  the  wind  or  weather  interfere 
with  angling  arrangements,  for  the  simple  reason  that  I  have  so 
often  experienced  the  best  sport  on  the  most  unlikely  days." — 
B.  B.  Ma/raton. 


THE  POETEY   OF    FLY  FISHING. 

BY 

F.  E.  POND. 


It  has  been  said  that  the  angler,  like  the  poet,  is 
born,  not  made.  This  is  a  self-evident  fact.  Few  men 
have  risen  to  the  dignity  of  anglers  who  did  not  in 
early  youth  feel  the  unconquerable  impulse  to  go  a- 
fishing.  There  are,  of  course,  noteworthy  exceptions, 
but  the  rule  holds  good.  It  might  be  added,  too,  that 
the  genuine  angler  is  almost  invariably  a  poet,  although 
he  may  not  be  a  jingler  of  rhymes — a  ballad-monger. 
Though,  perhaps,  lacking  the  art  of  vesification,  his 
whole  life  is  in  itself  a  well-rounded  poem,  and  he 
never  misses  the  opportunity  to  "cast  his  lines  in 
pleasant  places. " 

This  is  particularly  true  of  the  artistic  fly-fisher,  for 
with  him  each  line  is  cast  with  the  poetry  of  motion. 
Ned  Locus,  the  inimitable  character  of  J.  Cypress' 
"Fire  Island  Ana,"  is  made  to  aver  that  he  ^'once 
threw  his  fly  so  far,  so  delicately,  and  suspendedly,  that 
it  took  life  and  wings,  and  would  have  flown  away,  but 
that  a  four-pound  trout,  seeing  it  start,  jumped  a  foot 
from  the  water  and  seized  it,  thus  changing  the  course 
of  the  insect's  travel  from  the  upper  atmosphere  to  the 


228  FISHING  WITH  THE  FLY. 

bottom  of  his  throat."  Being  quoted  from  memory, 
these  may  not  be  the  words  exactly,  as  Toodles  would 
say,  but  the  sentiment  is  the  same.  There  is  the  true 
poetical  spirit  pervading  the  very  air,  whispering  from 
the  leaves,  murmuring  in  the  brook,  and  thus  the  sur- 
roundings of  the  angler  complete  that  which  nature 
began,  and  make  him  a  poet.  In  common  with  other 
sports  of  the  field,  though  in  greater  degree  : 

"  It  is  a  mingled  rapture,"  and  we  find 
The  bodily  spirit  mounting  to  the  mind." 

Bards  have  sung  its  praises,  traditions  have  hallowed 
it,  and  philosophers  have  revelled  in  the  gentle  pastime, 
from  the  days  of  Oppian  and  Homer  down  to  Walton, 
Christopher  North  and  Tennyson. 

Although  the  art  of  fly-fishing  was  not  known  to  the 
ancients,  the  poetry  of  angling  has  been  enriched  by 
the  bards  of  ye-olden-time  to  a  remarkable  degree.  In 
Pope's  translation  of  the  Iliad,  the  following  passage 
occurs  : 

"  As  from  some  rock  that  overhangs  the  flood, 
The  silent  fisher  casts  the  insidious  food  ; 
Witli  f  raudf  ul  care  he  waits  the  finny  prize, 
Then  sudden  lifts  it  quivering  to  the  skies." 

One  of  the  most  familiar  of  ^sop's  fables,  in  rhyme, 
is  that  of  the  Fisherman  and  the  Little  Fish,  while 
Theocritus,  who  flourished  about  the  year  270  b.  c, 
gives  us  a  spirited  idyl  representing  the  life  of  a  Greek 
fisherman.     Oppian  and  Aristotle  each  prepared  a  clas- 


THE  POETRY  OF  FLY  FISHING.  229 

sical  volume  on  fish  and  fishing.  Pliny  in  his  "  Historia 
Naturalis"  treats  at  length  of  the  finny  tribes,  and 
Ansonius  in  his  poem,  "Mostella,"  describes  the  tench, 
salmon  and  other  yarieties  of  fish. 

Among  the  early  contributions  to  English  literature 
on  angling,  the  ^^Poeticae,"  generally  attributed  to  a 
Scottish  balladist  known  as  Blind  Harry,  is  conspicu- 
ous. Then  the  ^^  Boke  of  St.  Albans,"  by  Dame  Juliana 
Berners,  and  quaint  .old  Izaak  Walton's  "Compleat 
Angler  " — a  brace  of  classic  volumes  dear  to  the  heart 
of  all  who  love  the  rod  and  reel. 

In  modern  times  the  literature  of  angling  has  had 
scores  of  staunch  and  able  supporters  among  the  writers 
of  Britain  and  our  own  land.  Sir  Humphry  Davy's 
"  Salmonia  "  ;  Christopher  North's  essays  on  angling,  in 
''  ISToctes  AmbrosianaB "  ;  Stoddart's  Angling  Songs ; 
all  these  and  a  score  of  others  are  familiar  to  rodsters 
on  both  sides  of  the  Atlantic.  The  clever  poet  and 
satirist,  Tom  Hood,  discourses  thus  in  praise  of  the 
gentle  art  : 

'*  Of  all  sports  ever  sported,  commend  me  to  angling. 
It  is  the  wisest,  virtuousest,  discreetest,  best;  the  safest, 
cheapest,  and  in  all  likelihood  the  oldest  of  pastimes. 
It  is  a  one-handed  game  that  would  have  suited  Adam 
himself ;  and  it  was  the  only  one  by  which  Noah  could 
have  amused  himself  in  the  ark.  Hunting  and  shoot- 
ing come  in  second  and  third.  The  common  phrase, 
*^fish,  flesh  and  fowl,'  clearly  hints  at  this  order  of  pre- 
cedence.    *    *    ^    ^Q  refer  to  my  own  experience,  I 


230  FISEINO  WITH  THE  FLY. 

certainly  became  acquainted  with  the  angling  rod  soon 
after  the  birchen  one,  and  long  before  I  had  any  prac- 
tical knowledge  of  'Nimrod'  or  '  Eamrod.'  The  truth 
is,  angling  comes  by  nature.  It  is  in  the  system,  as  the 
doctors  say." 

It  is  no  exaggeration  to  state  that  the  real  poetry  of 
fly-fishing,  as  given  in  the  grand  old  book  of  Nature, 
is  appreciated  to  the  fullest  by  American  anglers.  The 
breezy  air  of  the  forest  leaves  is  found  in  the  charming 
works  of  Bethune,  of  Herbert,  Hawes,  Norris,  Dawson, 
Hallock  and  many  other  worthies,  past  and  present. 
The  modern  Horace — he  of  the  traditional  white  hat — 
never  wrote  a  better  essay  than  that  descriptive  of  hia 
early  fishing  days.  The  same  is  true  of  Rev.  Henry 
Ward  Beecher,  and  Charles  Dudley  Warner's  most 
graphic  pen  picture  is  his  inimitable  sketch,  *^  A  Fight 
with  a  Trout."  The  number  of  really  good  books  on 
American  field  sports  is  principally  made  up  of  angling 
works,  a  fact  which  goes  far  to  establish  the  truth  of 
Wm.  T.  Porter's  assertion,  namely  :  "No  man  ever 
truly  polished  a  book  unless  he  were  something  of  an 
angler,  or  at  least  loved  the  occupation.  He  who  steals 
from  the  haunts  of  men  into  the  green  solitudes  of 
Nature,  by  the  banks  of  gliding,  silvery  streams,  under 
the  checkering  lights  of  sun,  leaf  and  cloud,  may 
always  hope  to  cast  his  lines,  whether  of  the  rod  or  the 
^  record  book,'  in  pleasant  places." 

This  may  be    appropriately  supplemented   by  the 
opinion,  poetically  expressed  by  the  same  author,  with 


THE  POETRY  OF  FLY  FISHING.  231 

reference  to  the  art  of  fishing  with  the  artificial  fly, 
thus  ;  '^Fly-fishing  has  beTen  designated  the  royal  and 
aristocratic  branch  of  the  angler's  craft,  and  unques- 
tionably it  is  the  most  difficult,  the  most  elegant,  and 
to  men  of  taste,  by  myriads  of  degrees  the  most  pleasant 
and  exciting  mode  of  angling.  To  land  a  trout  of  three, 
four  or  five  pounds  weight,  and  sometimes  heavier,  with 
a  hook  almost  invisible,  with  a  gut  line  almost  as  deli- 
cate and  beautiful  as  a  single  hair  from  the  raven  tresses 
of  a  mountain  sylph,  and  with  a  rod  not  heavier  than  a 
tandem  whip,  is  an  achievement  requiring  no  little 
presence  of  mind,  united  to  consummate  skill.  If  it 
be  not  so,  and  if  it  do  not  give  you  some  very  pretty 
palpitations  of  the  heart  in  the  performance,  may  we 
never  wet  a  line  in  Lake  George,  or  raise  a  trout  in  the 
Susquehanna." 

Thomson,  the  much  admired  author  of  "  The  Sea- 
sons," was  in  his  youth  a  zealous  angler,  frequently  cast- 
ing his  fly  in  the  rippling  waters  of  the  Tweed,  a  trout- 
stream  justly  famous  along  the  Scottish  border.  The 
poet  has  eulogized  his  favorite  pastime  of  fly-fishing  in 
the  following  elegant  lines  : 

**  Now,  when  the  first  foul  torrent  of  the  brooks, 
Swell'd  with  the  vernal  rains,  is  ebb'd  away  ; 
And,  whitening,  down  their  mossy  tinctur'd  stream 
Descends  the  billowy  foam,  now  is  the  time, 
While  yet  the  dark  brown  water  aids  the  guile 
To  tempt  the  trout.     The  well-dissembled  fly — 
The  rod,  fine  tapering  with  elastic  spring. 


232  FISHmO  WITH  THE  FL  Y. 

Snatch'd  from  the  hoary  stud  the  floating  line. 
And  all  thy  slender  wat'ry  stores  prepare  ; 
But  let  not  on  thy  hook  the  tortur'd  worm 
Convulsive  twist  in  agonizing  folds, 
Which,  by  rapacious  hunger  swallow'd  deep, 
Gives,  as  you  tear  it  from  the  bleeding  breast 
Of  the  weak,  helpless,  uncomplaining  wretch, 
Harsh  pain  and  horror  to  the  tender  hand." 
****** 
*'  When,  with  his  lively  ray,  the  potent  sun 
Has  pierc'd  the  streams,  and  rous'd  the  finny  race. 
Then,  issuing  cheerful  to  thy  sport  repair  ; 
Chief  should  the  western  breezes  curling  play, 
And  light  o'er  ether  bear  the  shadowy  clouds, 
High  to  their  fount,  this  day,  amid  the  hills 
And  woodlands  warbling  round,  trace  up  the  brooks 
The  next  pursue  their  rocky-channel' d  maze 
Down  to  the  river,  in  whose  ample  wave 
Their  little  Naiads  love  to  sport  at  large. 
Just  in  the  dubious  point,  where  with  the  pool 
Is  mix'd  the  trembling  stream,  or  where  it  boils 
Around  the  stone,  or  from  the  hoUow'd  bank 
Eeverted  plays  in  undulating  flow. 
There  throw,  nice  judging,  the  delusive  fly  ; 
And,  as  you  lead  it  round  the  artful  curve, 
With  eye  attentive  mark  the  springing  game. 
Straight  as  above  the  surface  of  the  flood 
They  wanton  rise,  or,  urged  by  hunger,  leap, 
Then  fix,  with  gentle  twitch,  the  barbed  hook  ; 
Some  lightly  tossing  to  the  grassy  bank, 
And  to  the  shelving  shore  slow  dragging  some 
With  various  hand  proportion'd  to  their  force. 
If  yet  too  young,  and  easily  deceiv'd, 
A  worthless  prey  scarce  bends  your  pliant  rod. 


THE  POETR Y  OF  FLY  FISHING.  233 

Him,  piteous  of  his  youth,  and  the  short  space 
He  has  enjoy'd  the  vital  light  of  heaven, 
Soft  disengage,  and  back  into  the  stream 
The  speckl'd  captive  throw  ;  but,  should  you  lure 
From  his  dark  haunt,  beneath  the  tangled  roots 
Of  pendent  trees,  the  monarch  of  the  brook. 
Behooves  you  then  to  ply  your  finest  art. 
Long  time  he,  following  cautious,  scans  the  fly. 
And  oft  attempts  to  seize  it,  but  as  oft 
The  dimpled  water  speaks  his  jealous  fear. 
At  last,  while  haply  o'er  the  shaded  sun 
Passes  a  cloud,  he  desperate  takes  the  death 
With  sullen  plunge  :  at  once  he  darts  along, 
Deep  struck,  and  runs  out  all  the  lengthen'd  line, 
Then  seeks  the  farthest  ooze,  the  sheltering  weed, 
The  cavem'd  bank,  his  old  secure  above, 
And  flies  aloft,  and  flounces  round  the  pool, 
Indignant  of  the  guile.     With  yielding  hand. 
That  feels  him  still,  yet  to  his  fuiious  course 
Gives  way,  you,  now  retiring,  following  now. 
Across  the  stream,  exhaust  his  idle  rage, 
'Till  floating  broad  upon  his  breathless  side, 
And  to  his  fate  abandon'd,  to  the  shore 
You  gayly  drag  your  unresisting  prize." 

Angling,  like  every  other  manly  pastime,  has  had 
numerous  assailants — some  of  them  *'  men  of  mark," 
as  in  the  case  of  Lord  Byron,  whose  "fine  phrensy"  in 
denouncing  Walton  and  the  gentle  art  failed  not  to 
draw  down  upon  himself  the  laughter  of  a  world.  The 
plaint  of  Lord  Byron  runs  thus  : 

**  Then  there  were  billiards  ;  cards,  too  ;  but  no  dice, 
Save  in  the  clubs  no  man  of  honor  plays — 


234  FISHING  WITH  THE  FLY, 

Boats  when  'twas  water,  skating  when  'twas  ice, 
And  the  hard  frost  destroy'd  the  scenting  days; 

And  angling,  too,  that  solitary  vice, 
Whatever  Izaac  Walton  sings  or  says  ; 

The  quaint  old  cruel  coxcomb  in  his  gullet. 

Should  have  a  hook,  and  a  small  trout  to  pull  it." 

Another  famous  satirist  of  the  old  school  defines 
angling  as  *'  a  stick  and  a  string,  with  a  fish  at  one 
end  and  a  fool  at  the  other,"  while  a  third,  the  well- 
known  Peter  Pindar,  in  closing  a  "  Ballad  to  a  Fish  in 
the  Brook,"  takes  occasion  to  say  : 

"  Enjoy  thy  stream,  oh,  harmless  fish, 
And  when  an  angler  for  his  dish. 

Through  gluttony's  vile  sin, 
Attempts — a  wretch — to  pull  thee  out, 
God  give  thee  strength,  oh,  gentle  trout, 
To  pull  the  rascal  *?*." 

All  who  loye  to  go  a-fishing  can  well  afford  to  smile 
at  the  malicious  flings  of  morbid  critics,  and  while  rec- 
reating both  -mind  and  body  in  casting  the  mimic  fly 
along  the  dashing  mountain  stream,  think  of  the 
deluded  satirists  in  pity  rather  than  condemnation. 

Let  us,  then,  in  unison  with  the  quaint  and  charm- 
ing poet.  Gay  : 

"Mark  well  the  various  seasons  of  the  year. 
How  the  succeeding  insect  race  appear. 
In  their  revolving  moon  one  color  reigns, 
Which  in  the  next  the  fickle  trout  disdains; 
Oft  have  I  seen  a  skilful  angler  try 


THE  POETRY  OF  FL 7  FIBHING.  235 

The  various  colors  of  the  treach'rous  fly  ; 
When  he  with  fruitless  pain  hath  skim'd  the  brook. 
And  the  coy  fish  rejects  the  skipping  hook. 
He  shakes  the  boughs  that  on  the  margin  grow, 
Which  o'er  the  stream  a  weaving  forest  throw  ; 
When  if  an  insect  fall  (his  certain  guide) 
He  gently  takes  him  from  the  whirling  tide  ; 
Examines  well  his  form  with  curious  eyes, 
His  gaudy  vest,  his  wings,  his  horns,  his  size. 
Then  round  his  hook  the  chosen  fur  he  winds, 
And  on  the  back  a  speckled  feather  binds  ; 
So  just  the  colors  shine  through  every  part, 
That  nature  seems  to  live  again  in  ait." 


**  In  this  rude  sorte  began  this  simple  Art, 
And  so  remained  in  that  first  age  of  old, 
When  Saturne  did  Amalthea's  home  impart 
Vnto  the  world,  that  then  was  all  of  gold ; 
The  fish  as  yet  had  felt  but  little  smart, 
And  were  to  bite  more  eager,  apt,  and  bold ; 
And  plenty  still  supplide  the  place  againe 
Of  woefuU  want  whereof  we  now  complaine." 

**  But  when  in  time  the  feare  and  dread  of  man 
Fell  more  and  more  on  every  lining  thing, 
And  all  the  creatures  of  the  world  began 
To  stand  in  awe  of  this  vsurping  king, 
Whose  tyranny  so  farre  extended  than 
That  Earth  and  Seas  it  did  in  thraldome  bring ; 
It  was  a  work  of  greater  paine  and  skill. 
The  wary  Fish  in  Lake  or  Brooke  to  kill. 

**  So,  worse  and  worse,  two  ages  more  did  passe, 
Yet  still  this  Art  more  perfect  daily  grew, 
For  then  the  slender  Rod  invented  was, 

Of  finer  sort  than  former  ages  knew, 
And  Hookes  were  made  of  siluer  and  of  brasse, 
And  Lines  of  Hemp  and  Flaxe  were  framed  new, 
And  Sundry  baites  experience  found  out  more, 
Than  elder  times  did  know  or  try  before. 

*'  But  at  the  last  the  Iron  age  drew  neere, 
Of  all  the  rest  the  hardest  and  most  scant. 
Then  lines  were  made  of  Silke  and  subtile  hayre, 

And  Rods  of  lightest  Cane  and  hazell  plant. 
And  Hookes  of  hardest  Steele  inuented  were, 
That  neither  skill  nor  workmanship  did  want. 
And  so  this  Art  did  in  the  end  attaine 
Vnto  that  state  where  now  it  doth  remaine." 

. — John  Dennys  (1613). 


A    PERFECT   DAY. 

BY 

GEO.  W.  VAN  SICLEN. 


I  TAKE  my  rod  this  fair  June  morning,  and  go  forth 
to  be  alone  with  nature.  No  business  cares,  no  roar  of 
the  city,  no  recitals  of  others'  troubles  and  woes  which 
make  the  lawyer  a  human  hygrometer,  no  doubts  nor 
fears  to  disturb  me  as,  drinking  in  the  clear,  sweet  air 
with  blissful  anticipation,  I  saunter  through  the  wood- 
path  toward  the  mountain  lake.  As  I  brush  the  dew 
from  the  bushes  around  me,  I  spy  in  a  glade  golden 
flowers  glowing  on  a  carpet  of  pure  green,  mingled 
with  the  snowy  stars  of  white  blossoms  ;  with  their  fra- 
grance comes  the  liquid,  bell-like  voice  of  the  swamp- 
robin,  hidden  from  curious  eyes.  Soon  seated  in  my 
boat,  I  paddle  to  the  shade  of  a  tall,  dark  hemlock  and 
rest  there,  lulled  by  the  intense  quiet.  Ever  and  anon 
as  I  dreamily  cast  my  ethereal  fly,  a  thrill  of  pleasure 
electrifies  me,  as  it  is  seized  by  a  vigorous  trout. 

I  have  long  classed  trout  with  flowers  and  birds,  and 
bright  sunsets,  and  charming  scenery,  and  beautiful 
women,  as  given  for  the  rational  enjoyment  and  delight 
of  thoughtful  men  of  aesthetic  tastes.     And  if 


238  FISHING  WITH  THE  FLY. 

*'  By  deeds  our  lives  shall  measured  be, 
And  not  by  length  of  days," 

then  a  perfect  life  has  been  lived  by  many  a  noble  trout 
whose  years  have  been  few,  but  who,  caught  by  the  fish- 
er's lure  (to  which  he  was  predestined,  as  aforesaid), 
has  leaped  into  the  air  and  shaken  the  sparkling  drops 
from  his  purple,  golden,  crimson,  graceful  form  and 
struggled  to  be  free,  to  the  intense  delight  of  the  artist 
who  brought  him  to  the  basket,  where  he  belonged. 

Thus  resting,  and  floating  apparently  between  the 
translucent  crystal  and  the  blue  ether,  silent,  I  have 
felt  the  presence  of  a  spirit  who  inspires  one  with  pure 
thoughts  of  matters  far  above  the  affairs  of  daily  life 
and  toil,  of  the  universe  and  what  lies  beyond  the  blue 
eky,  and  of  the  mind  and  soul  of  man,  and  his  future 
after  death. 

I  love  the  mountains,  and  the  meadows,  and  the 
woods. 

Later  satisfied,  but  not  satiated,  with  fair  provision 
of  com,  and  wine,  and  oil,  and  my  creel  well  filled,  the 
shadows  lengthen  and  the  day  begins  to  die. 

Some  day  I  shall  hear  no  more  forever  the  birds  sing 
in  the  sylvan  shade.  My  eyes  will  no  more  behold  the 
woods  I  love  so  well.  For  the  last  time  my  feet  will 
slowly  tread  this  woodland  road,  and  I  shall  watch  for 
the  last  time  the  changing  shadows  made  by  the  clouds 
upon  the  hillsides. 

There  will  come  a  time  when  the  setting  sun  will 
paint  the  west  as  the  bridegroom  colors  the  cheek  of 


A  PERFECT  DA  T,  239 

the  bride  ;  but  I  shall  not  know  it,  and  I  shall  never 
again  share  such  hours  of  peace  with  the  leafy  trees. 
Then,  with  folded  hands  upon  my  quiet  breast,  my 
friends  will  briefly  gaze  upon  my  face  and  I  shall  be 
gone.  In  that  last  day,  so  full  of  deepest  interest  to 
me,  may  my  soul  be  pure. 

Eilled  with  such  thoughts,  I  regret  that  I  cannot  ex- 
press them  like  the  poet,  whose  name  I  know  not,  but 
whose  words  I  will  recall : 

**  Good-bye,  sweet  day,  good-bye  1 
I  have  so  loved  thee,  but  I  cannot  hold  thee  ; 
Departing  like  a  dream  the  shadows  fold  thee. 
Slowly  thy  perfect  beauty  fades  away  ; 
Good-bye,  sweet  day. 

**  Good-bye,  sweet  day,  good-bye  I 
Dear  were  the  golden  hours  of  tranquil  splendor. 
Sadly  thou  yieldest  to  the  evening  tender, 
Who  wert  so  fair  from  thy  first  morning  ray. 
Good-bye,  sweet  day. 

*'  Good-bye,  sweet  day,  good-bye  I 
Thy  glow  and  charm,  thy  smiles  and  tones  and  glances 
Vanish  at  last  and  solemn  night  advances. 
Ah  I  couldst  thou  yet  a  little  longer  stay. 
Good-bye,  sweet  day. 

"  Good-bye,  sweet  day,  good-bye  I 
All  thy  rich  gifts  my  grateful  heart  remembers, 
The  while  I  watched  thy  sunset's  smouldering  embers 
Die  in  the  west  beneath  the  twilight  gray. 
Good-bye,  sweet  day." 


240  FISHING  WITH  THE  FLY. 

As  the  balsam-breathing  night  wind  begins  to  blow, 
T  turn  my  back  upon  the  silver  glancing  of  the  moon- 
light on  the  rippling  waves  of  the  fairy  lake,  and  step 
bravely  into  the  darkness  of  the  woods,  where  I  cannot 
see  the  places  where  my  foot  shall  fall,  but  I  know  that 
others  have  safely  passed  it  before,  and  that  I  shall  find 
comfort  and  home  at  the  end. 

Note. — "  Description  of  a  day  on  Balsam  Lake  (headwaters  of 
the  Beaverkill)  where  no  house  was  ever  built.  From  the  lake  it  is 
two  miles  through  the  woods  (about  ten  miles  in  the  dark)  to  the 
nearest  house," — Extract  from  letter  aocompanging  article. 


HACKLES  &  GNATS.- 


Made  by  C  F.ORYIS.   Manchesler.Vt 


CO  PYR  I  G  H  T  E  O 


"I  handle  this  '  brown  hackle '  as  gently  as  a  relic,  not  alone 
because  it  is  the  memento  of  an  unusual  achievement,  but  because 
the  sight  of  it  brings  up  vividly  before  me  the  beautiful  lake  where 
the  trout  lay  ;  its  crystal  waters ;  the  glinting  of  its  ruffled  sur- 
face as  the  bright  sun  fell  upon  it ;  the  densely  wooded  hills  which 
encircled  it;  the  soughing  of  the  tall  pines  as  the  summer's  breeze 
swept  through  their  branches;  and  the  thrill  which  coursed 
through  every  nerve  as  trout  after  trout  leaped  to  the  cast,  and, 
after  such  manipulation  and  *  play '  as  only  those  who  have  had 
personal  experience  can  comprehend,  were  duly  captured." — 
George  Dawgon. 


"  Don't  be  in  too  great  a  hurry  to  change  your  flies. 
Francis. 


-Francis 


I. 

Brown  Hackle. 

2.  Scarlet  Hackle. 

3. 

White  Hackle. 

4. 

Yellow  Hackle. 

5.  Ginger  Hackle. 

6. 

Gray  Hackle. 

7- 

Black  Hackle. 

8.  Coch-y-Bonddu. 

9. 

Gray  Hackle. 

I. 

Emerald  Gnat. 

2.  Black  Gnat. 
Pennell  Hackles. 

3. 

Soldier  Gnat. 

I. 

Brown  Pennell. 

2.  Yellow  Pennell. 

3. 

Green  Pennell. 

'*  And  now  we  have  got  through  the  poetry  of  the  art.  Hith- 
erto things  have  gone  happy  as  a  marriage  bell.  I  unhesitatingly 
declare,  and  I  confidently  appeal  to  my  brother  Angler,  whether 
he,  a  fly  fisherman,  does  not  feel  similarly.  To  me  fly-fishing  is 
a  labor  of  love;  the  other  is  labor —alone.  But  notwithstanding 
such  are  my  feelings,  it  by  no  means  follows  that  every  one  else 
so  fancies  it.    Every  one  to  his  taste." — Capt.  Peel  ("  DinJca  ") 

"  When  Spring  comes  round,  look  to  your  tackle  with  careful 
inspection,  and  see  that  all  are  in  perfect  order.  Above  all,  look 
well  to  your  flies ;  reject  all  specimens  that  have  been  injured  by 
use,  and  all  frayed  gut  lengths.  It  is  better  to  tnrow  away  a 
handful  now,  than  to  lose  flies  and  heavy  fish  together  the  first 
time  you  fasten  to  a  rise." — Charles  EallocTc. 


"  That  liook  is  for  a  very  little  fly,  and  you  must  make  your 
wings  accordingly;  for  as  the  case  stands  it  must  be  a  little  fly, 
and  a  very  little  one  too,  that  must  do  your  business." — Charles 
Cotton. 

"For  some  reason  which  I  have  not  succeeded  in  fathoming, 
the  yellow  fly  always  seems  to  kill  best  in  the  position  of  dropper, 
or  bob- fly,  and  the  green  when  employed  as  the  stretcher,  or  tail- 
fly.  The  brown  can  be  used  in  either  position. " — H.  GJwlmon- 
deley-Pennell. 

"Note  that  usually,  the  smallest  flies  are  best;  and  note  also, 
that  the  light  flie  does  usually  make  most  sport  in  a  dark  day; 
and  the  darkest  and  least  flie  in  a  bright  or  clear  day." — Izaah 
Walton. 

**  No  description  with  pen  or  tongue  can  teach  you  how  to  cast 
a  fly.  Accompany  an  expert  and  watch  him." — T.  S.  Up  de 
Graff,  M.D. 

•'There  is  no  more  graceful  and  healthful  accomplishment  for  a 
lady  than  fly-flshing,  and  there  is  no  reason  why  a  lady  should 
not  in  every  respect  rival  a  gentleman  in  the  gentle  art." —  W.  C, 
Prime. 

"  Everything  which  makes  deception  more  alluring  should  be 
resorted  to  by  an  Angler;  for,  let  his  experience  be  ever  so  great, 
he  wiU  always  flnd  opportunities  to  regret  his  deficiencies." — 
Parker  Gilmore. 

"The  Bisby  Lake  trout  are  not  partial  to  the  artificial  fly, 
though  occasionally  one  is  taken.  The  lure  of  this  kind  that  is 
most  successful  is  a  slate-olive  colored  fly  remotely  resembling 
the  caddis  fly,  and  this  they  are  more  likely  to  take  when  trolled 
a  few  feet  under  water,  than  when  cast  and  drawn  on  the  sur- 
face."— BicJiard  U.  Sherman. 

"The  water  is  full,  I'll  try  a  red  hackle,  its  tail  tipped  with 
gold  tinsel  ;  for  my  dropper  I'll  put  on  a  good-sized  coachman 
with  lead-colored  wings."—  ThaMeus  Norris. 


SUGGESTIONS 

BY 

CHARLES  F.  0RVI8. 


During  my  long  iutercourse  with  the  angling  fra- 
ternity, I  have  always  found  its  members  very  ready  to 
receive  and  impart  suggestions,  in  the  most  friendly 
manner.  It  appears  to  me  that  those  who  are  de- 
voted to  "the  gentle  art,"  are  especially  good-natured; 
and  while  very  many  have  their  own  peculiar  ideas 
as  to  this  or  that,  yet  they  are  always  willing  and 
anxious  to  hear  the  opinions  of  others.  Believing 
this,  I  am  prompted  to  make  a  few  suggestions,  in  re- 
gard to  fly-fishing  for  trout,  and  the  tackle  used  for 
that  purpose  ;  and  if  I  differ  from  any,  which  will  he 
very  likely,  I  trust  that  what  appears  erroneous  will 
be  regarded  chaiitably ;  and  if  I  shall  be  so  fortunate 
as  to  make  any  suggestions  that  will  add  to  the  enjoy- 
ment of  any  "brother  of  the  Angle,"  I  shall  be  con- 
tent. 

The  rod,  of  course,  is  of  the  first  importance  in  an 
outfit,  as  very  much  depends  on  its  perfection. 

For  ordinary  fly-fishing  for  trout,  a  rod  from  ten  to 
twelve  feet  in  length  will  be  found  most  convenient. 


244  FISHING  WITH  THE  FLT. 

I  use  a  ten-foot  rod,  and  find  it  meets  all  my  require- 
ments. 

It  is  well  to  let  your  rod  have  weight  enough  to  have 
some  "  back-bone  "  in  it ;  very  light  and  very  limber  rods 
are  objectionable,  because  with  them  one  cannot  cast 
well  against,  or  across  the  wind ;  and  it  is  impossible  to 
hook  your  fish  with  any  certainty — especially  with  a 
long  line  out — or  to  handle  one  properly  when  hooked. 

A  very  limber  rod  will  not  re-act  quickly  enough,  nor 
strongly  enough  to  lift  the  line  and  fix  the  hook  firmly ; 
because,  when  the  upward  motion  is  made,  in  the  act 
of  striking,  the  point  of  the  rod  first  goes  down  ;  and, 
unless  it  is  as  stiff  as  it  will  do  to  have  it  and  cast  well, 
it  will  not  re-act  until  the  fish  has  found  out  his  mis- 
take and  rejected  the  fraud. 

Kods  ten  to  twelve  feet  long  should  weigh  from  seven 
and  one-half  to  ten  and  one-half  ounces,  depending  on 
the  material  and  weight  of  mountings,  size  of  hand- 
piece, etc.  Many,  perhaps,  would  say,  that  eight  to 
ten  ounces,  for  a  single-handed  fly-rod,  is  too  heavy ; 
that  such  rods  would  prove  tiresome  to  handle.  Much 
depends  on  how  the  rod  hangs.  If  a  ten-ounce  rod  is 
properly  balanced,  it  will  be  no  harder  work  to  use  it 
than  a  poorly  balanced  seven-ounce  rod — in  fact,  not 
as  fatiguing.  Some  men  can  handle  an  eleven-foot  rod 
with  the  same  ease  that  another  could  one  that  was  a 
foot  shorter.  Hence,  the  rod  should  be  adapted  to  the 
person  who  is  to  use  it. 

The  stiffness  of  a  split  bamboo  rod  is  one  of  its  great 


SUGGESTIONS.  245 

merits.     When  I  say  stiffness,  I  mean  the  steel-like 
elasticity  which  causes  it  to  re-act  with  such  quickness. 

For  material  for  fly-rods,  bamboo  ranks  first,  lance- 
wood  next ;  after  mentioning  these,  there  is  not  much 
to  say.  Green-heart  is  too  uncertain.  Paddlewood  is 
yery  fine,  but  as  yet,  extremely  difficult  to  obtain  in  any 
quantity. 

The  balance,  or  ^'  hang,"  of  a  rod  is  of  the  greatest 
importance.  Let  it  be  never  so  well  made  otherwise, 
if  not  properly  balanced  it  will  be  worthless. 

The  elasticity  should  be  uniform,  from  tip  to  near 
the  hand ;  a  true  taper  will  not  give  this,  because  the 
ferules  interfere  with  the  uniform  spring  of  the  rod. 
For  this  reason  a  little  enlargement  between  the  ferules 
should  be  made,  to  compensate  for  the  non-elasticity  of  ■ 
the  metal.  These  enlargements  cannot  be  located  by 
measurements,  as  much  depends  on  the  material  and 
the  length  of  the  joint. 

Spliced  rods  can  be  made  nearer  a  true  taper,  for 
obvious  reasons ;  although  there  is  no  doubt  that  a 
spliced  rod  is  stronger  and  much  more  perfect  in  cast- 
ing qualities,  yet  they  require  such  care  to  preserve 
the  delicate  ends  of  the  splice,  and  are  so  troublesome 
in  many  ways,  that  few  will  use  them. 

The  details  of  rod-making  having  been  so  often  told, 
I  do  not  purpose  making  any  suggestions  on  that 
subject,  but  will  say  that,  in  order  to  make  a  good 
fly-rod,  the  maker  ought  to  know  how  to  handle  it, 
when  flnished. 


246  FISHING  WITH  THE  FLY. 

I  believe  in  a  very  narrow  reel,  and  use  one  that  is 
only  one-half  inch  between  outside  plates.  As  both 
outside  and  spool  plates  are  perforated,  my  line  never 
mildews  or  gets  tender.  Hence,  it  is  unnecessary  to 
take  the  line  off  to  dry  it,  as  should  be  done  when  solid 
reel  plates  are  used. 

With  such  a  reel  my  line  never  tangles.  If  your  reel 
be  narrow  between  plates,  and  large  in  circumference,  it 
will  take  up  line  rapidly,  and  obviate  the  use  of  a  mul- 
tiplier, which  is  objectionable  for  fly-fishing.  A  light 
click  is  desirable,  just  strong  enough  to  hold  the  handle 
and  keep  the  line  from  over-running.  More  friction  is 
of  no  use,  and  may  cause  you  the  loss  of  many  fish. 

Experience  satisfies  me  that  you  should  use  your 
reel  on  the  under  side  of  your  rod,  with  handle  to- 
wards the  right — because  the  weight  of  the  reel  so 
placed  holds  the  rod  in  proper  position  without  your 
giving  it  a  thought,  and  your  right  hand  finds  the  reel 
handle  without  trouble ;  because  your  reel  is  thus  en- 
tirely out  of  the  way  of  your  arm  ;  because  with  the 
rod  always  in  proper  position,  your  left  hand  finds  the 
line  every  time,  to  draw  it  from  the  reel  when  wanted 
for  a  longer  cast ;  because  with  the  reel  on  the  under 
side  the  rod  is  always  exactly  balanced,  and  you  will 
not  have  to  grasp  it  with  anywhere  near  the  force  re- 
quired with  the  reel  on  the  upper  side.  And  you  can 
make  your  casts  with  ease  and  lay  out  your  flies  gently 
and  more  accurately  than  you  could  with  the  firmer 
grip  needful  to  be  kept  on  the  rod  with  the  reel  in  the 


SUGGESTIONS.  247 

latter  position,  and  because,  without  constant  attention, 
your  reel  is  never  on  the  upper  side  of  the  rod  to  any 
certainty,  but  anywhere  and  everywhere.  Keep  your 
reels  well  oiled. 

Enamelled,  or  water-proof,  braided  silk,  tapered,  Am- 
erican fly-lines,  are  the  best  made  for  fly-fishing.  It 
is  important  that  the  size  of  the  line  should  be  adapted 
to  the  rod.  A  heavy  line  on  a  very  light  rod  would  be 
bad.  A  very  light  line  on  a  heavy  rod  would  be  worse. 
No.  3  or  E,  and  No.  4  or  F,  are  the  two  best  sizes.  I 
find  many  are  inclined  to  use  too  light  lines,  supposing 
the  lighter  the  line  the  less  trouble  there  will  be  in  cast- 
ing it.     This,  I  think,  is  an  error. 

It  is  impossible  to  cast  well  against  or  across  the 
wind,  with  a  very  light  line  ;  and  very  light  lines  do 
not  '^ay  out"  as  easily  or  accurately  as  heavier  ones. 

Leaders,  or  casting  lines,  I  like  rather  heavy,  pro- 
portionate to  the  line.  To  use  a  very  light  leader  on  a 
No.  4  line  is  not  well ;  for  what  is  the  leader  but  a 
continuation  of  the  line  ?  Therefore  it  should  approxi- 
mate the  size  of  the  line,  that  there  may  be  no  sudden 
change  in  size  where  the  leader  begins,  in  order  that 
the  flies  shall  keep  ahead,  where  they  belong. 

Leaders  should  be  made  with  loops  at  proper  inter- 
vals, to  which  the  flies  are  to  be  attached.  Leaders 
with  such  loops  will  last  at  least  twice  as  long  as  those 
without  them. 

Three  flies  are  generally  used ;  perhaps  two  are  just 
as  good.     But  I  use  three  and  often  find  the  increased 


248  FISHING  WITH  THE  FLY, 

number  to  work  well,  as  presenting  a  greater  variety  to 
the  fickle  notions  of  the  many  trout,  and  it  is  best  to 
take  all  the  chances. 

The  first  dropper  loop  should  be  about  thirty  inches 
from  the  stretcher,  or  tail-fly.  Second  dropper,  twenty- 
four  inches  above  first  dropper — depending  somewhat 
on  the  length  of  the  leader.  Let  the  flies  be  as  far 
apart  as  I  have  indicated.  A  greater  distance  is  not 
objectionable — a  lesser  is. 

Leaders  should  be  tapered  and  made  of  the  best  qual- 
ity of  round  gut.  **  Mist  colored  "  or  stained  leaders  are, 
by  many,  thought  to  be  better  than  the  clear  white  gut ; 
but  I  must  say  I  never  have  been  able  to  see  that  they 
are,  or  that  there  is  any  difference,  practically.  There 
is  no  great  objection  to  the  colored  leaders,  and  I  use 
them  myself  usually.  I  will  not  undertake  to  settle 
the  much-discussed  question.  Either  plain  or  colored 
are  good  enough,  if  properly  made  and  from  good  gut. 

Always  let  your  leader  lie  in  the  water  awhile  before 
commencing  to  cast,  that  the  gut  may  soften — or  you 
may  lose  your  leader,  fish  and  temper,  and  blame  some 
one  because  you  think  you  have  been  cheated,  when  no 
one  was  in  fault  but  yourself  in  your  haste.  When 
you  have  finished  fishing,  wind  your  leader  around  your 
hat,  and  the  next  time  you  use  it  it  will  not  look  like  a 
cork-screw,  and  bother  you  half  an  hour  in  casting. 

To  one  who  has  not  acquired  the  art  of  fishing  with 
the  fliy,  let  me  suggest  that  a  day  or  two  with  an  expert 
will  save  much  time  and  trouble.     There  are  many 


SUGGESTIONS.  249 

little  things  that  cannot  well  be  described,  and  would 
take  a  long  time  to  find  out  by  experience,  that  can  be 
learned  very  quickly  when  seen.  It  is  not  easy  to  tell 
one  exactly  how  to  fish  with  the  fly. 

I  remember  well  my  first  trout ;  I  remember  as  well, 
the  first  fine  rod  and  tackle  I  ever  saw,  and  the  genial 
old  gentleman  who  handled  them.  I  had  thought  I 
knew  how  to  fish  with  the  fly ;  but  when  I  saw  my  old 
friend  step  into  the  stream  and  make  a  cast,  I  just 
wound  that  line  of  mine  around  the  '^pole"  I  had 
supposed  was  about  right,  and  I  followed  an  artist.  (I 
never  used  that  "pole"  again.)  I  devoted  my  time 
that  afternoon  to  what  to  me  was  a  revelation,  and  the 
quiet,  cordial  way  in  which  the  old  gentleman  accepted 
my  admiration,  and  the  pleasure  he  evidently  took  in 
lending  to  me  a  rod  until  I  could  get  one,  is  one  of  the 
pleasant  things  I  shall  always  retain  in  memory. 

To  really  enjoy  fly-fishing  one  must  be  able  to  cast  at 
least  fairly  well ;  to  cast  a  Tery  long  line  is  not  at  all 
important — to  cast  easily  and  gently  is.  Fifty  to  sixty 
feet  is  all  that  is  necessary  for  practical  purposes,  the 
great  majority  of  trout  are  taken  within  forty  feet. 

It  is  not  easy  to  tell  one  how  to  cast.  The  art  must 
be  acquired  by  practice.  As  I  have  said,  much  can  be 
learned  by  observing  an  expert.  There  is  one  great 
mistake  made  by  most  beginners ;  i,  e,,  far  too  much 
strength  is  used.  Let  me  suggest  to  the  novice  to 
begin  with  the  line  about  the  length  of  the  rod  ;  learn 
to  lay  that  out  gently,  and  as  you  take  your  flies  off  the 


250  FISHING  WITH  THE  FLY, 

water,  do  it  with  a  quick  moyement,  decreasing  the 
motion  until  your  rod  is  at  an  angle  of  not  quite  forty- 
five  degrees  behind  you,  this  angle  to  be  varied  accord- 
ing to  circumstances  which  cannot  be  foreseen.  Then 
the  rod  must  come  to  a  short  pause,  just  long  enough 
to  allow  the  line  and  leader  time  to  straighten  out 
fairly,  no  more.  Then  the  forward  motion  must  be 
made  with  a  degree  of  force  and  quickness  in  propor- 
tion to  the  length  of  line  you  have  out,  decreasing  the 
force  until  the  rod  is  about  horizontal ;  do  not  bring 
your  rod  to  a  sudden  stop,  or  your  line  and  your  flies 
will  come  down  with  a  splash  and  all  in  a  heap ;  but 
lay  your  line  out  gently,  my  friend,  and  your  flies  will 
fall  like  snowflakes.  It  is  not  muscle  but  '^  gentle  art " 
that  is  required.     '^Take  it  easy"  and  keep  trying. 

In  an  open  space,  from  a  boat  for  instance,  take 
your  flies  very  nearly  straight  off  the  water ;  never 
dropping  the  point  of  your  rod  much  to  the  right, 
as  this  leaves  your  line  on  the  water  and  makes  it  hard 
to  lift.  Take  your  flies  up  with  a  quick  movement, 
nearly  vertical,  and  wait  for  them  to  straighten  and 
cast  again  directly  towards  the  point  to  which  you  wish 
them  to  go. 

After  you  have  acquired  the  skill  to  cast  straight 
before  you  will  be  time  enough  for  you  to  practise  side 
casts,  under  casts,  etc.,  that  you  will  have  to  use  where 
there  are  obstacles  before  and  behind  you.  The  same 
movements  to  cast  and  retrieve  your  lines,  will  apply 
under  all  circumstances,  whether  in  open  water  or  on 


SUGGESTIONS,  251 

streams  overhung  with  trees,  or  fringed  with  bushes. 
Much  vexatious  catching  of  flies  ma3tbe  avoided  by 
not  being  too  eager,  and  by  not  asing  too  long  a  line. 
Let  me  add — just  before  your  flies  touch  the  water,  draw 
back  your  rod  slightly  and  gently;  this  will  straighten  the 
line,  and  your  flies  will  fall  exactly  where  you  want  them. 

Cast  your  flies  so  that  they  fall  as  lightly  as  possible, 
with  your  leader  extended  to  its  full  length;  then  draw 
your  flies  in  the  direction  you  wish,  being  careful  not  to 
draw  them  too  far,  or  you  will  have  trouble  in  retriev- 
ing your  line  for  another  cast.  With  your  rod  too 
perpendicular  you  cannot  lift  your  line  quickly  enough 
to  carry  it  back  with  sufficient  force  to  straighten  it 
out,  and  your  next  cast  will  be  a  failure.  There  is  also 
much  danger  of  breaking  your  rod.  Usually  you  will 
get  your  rise  just  an  instant  after  your  flies  touch  the 
water,  or  before  you  have  drawn  them  more  than  a 
little  distance.  It  is  better  to  cast  often  and  draw  your 
flies  back  just  far  enough  so  that  you  can  easily  lift  your 
line  for  another  cast.  Moreover,  with  your  rod  too 
perpendicular  it  is  not  easy  to  hook  your  fish ;  so  cast 
often  and  cover  all  parts  of  the  pool. 

I  think  most  skilful  fly-fishers  draw  their  flies  with 
a  slightly  tremulous  motion,  to  make  the  flies  imitate 
the  struggles  of  an  insect,  and  I  believe  it  to  be  a  good 
method.  It  certainly  is  not  objectionable,  and  you  will 
find  it  can  be  done  without  thought ;  the  habit  once 
formed  and  it  will  be  difficult  for  you  to  draw  your 
flies  otherwise. 


252  FISHING  WITH  THE  FLY, 

The  instant  you  see  a  rise  at  one  of  your  flies,  strike 
quickly,  but  not  too  strongly,  nor  with  a  long  pull,  but 
with  a  short,  sharp  motion,  not  too  strong  or  long 
enough  to  raise  even  a  small  fish  from  the  water,  but 
just  enough  to  driye  the  hook  firmly  in.  This  may  be 
done  by  an  upward  and  inward  motion,  or  a  side  motion, 
as  circumstances  may  dictate.  A  slight  turn  of  the 
wrist  is  often  all  that  is  required ;  but  if  you  have  a 
long  line  out,  you  will  have  to  use  your  arm  and  more 
force.  Your  fish  hooked,  keep  him  well  in  hand ;  don't 
give  him  any  more  line  than  is  necessary.  When  he  is 
determined  to  run,  let  him  do  so  ;  but  keep  your  fingers 
on  the  line  and  put  all  the  strain  on  him  you  safely  can, 
increasing  the  strain  the  further  he  goes.  Turn  him 
as  soon  as  possible,  and  the  instant  you  have  done  so, 
begin  to  reel  him  in.  When  he  runs  again,  repeat  the 
dose  and  get  his  head  out  of  the  water  a  little  as  soon 
as  you  dare.  This  exhausts  him  quickly.  Don't  raise 
him  too  far  out  of  the  water,  or  in  his  struggles  he  will 
break  loose. 

Should  a  fish  try  to  run  under  the  boat,  reel  up  until 
your  line  is  no  longer  than  your  rod,  or  nearly  so,  then 
firmly  guide  him  around  the  end — remembering  always 
'^  it  is  skill  against  brute  force." 

In  stream-fishing,  always  wade  if  you  can.  When 
fishing  from  a  boat  never  stand  up  if  you  can  help  it,  but 
learn  to  cast  sitting  down.  It  is  just  as  easy  if  you 
once  learn  how.  On  streams  it  is  better  to  wade,  be- 
cause your  feet  produce  no  jar  for  you  cannot  well  raise 


SUGGESTIONS.  253 

them  out  of  the  water,  and  dare  not  often.  And  for 
various  reasons  a  jierson  alarms  the  fish  less  in  wading 
than  in  fishing  from  the  bank. 

Fish  down  stream  always  if  possible.  You  can,  in  so 
doing,  look  over  the  pools  and  approach  them  to  the 
best  advantage.  It  is  easier  to  wade  with  the  current, 
and  as  you  cast  your  flies  you  can  let  them  float  natu- 
rally for  just  an  instant,  without  their  being  drawn 
under  the  surface.  This  instant  is  the  time  that,  in  a 
great  majority  of  cases,  you  get  your  rise.  Every  one 
who  has  fished  much  with  a  fly  knows  how  often  he 
has  whipped  every  inch  of  a  pool  and  failed  to  get  a 
rise  where  he  was  sure  his  flies  could  be  seen  from  any 
part  of  it,  and  at  last,  when  he  placed  his  flies  in  one 
particular  spot,  his  hopes  were  realized  in  an  instant. 

Why  did  not  the  trout  rise  before  ?  Because  he 
waited  until  his  food  came  to  him. 

In  streams,  especially,  trout  usually  rise  an  instant 
after  the  flies  touch  the  water,  and  I  believe  that  trout 
in  streams  commonly  wait  for  their  food  to  come  to 
them,  and  do  not  often  dart  out  from  where  they  are 
lying  to  any  great  distance,  but  wait  until  the  fly 
comes  nearly  or  quite  over  them,  and  then  rise  to  the 
surface  and  take  the  fly  with  a  snap  and  instantly  turn 
head  down  to  regain  the  position  they  had  left.  In 
doing  this  they  often  turn  a  somersault  and  throw 
themselves  out  of  the  water ;  as  they  go  over,  their  tails 
come  down  on  the  water  with  a  splash,  which  some 
persons  think  is  intentionally  done  to  strike  the  fly  or 


254  FISHmo  WITH  TEE  FLY. 

insect  in  order  to  kill  or  injure  it  and  then  afterwards 
capture  it.  Such  persons  fail  to  see  the  trout's  head  at 
all,  for  Yery  often  it  barely  comes  to  the  surface,  but 
the  quick  motion  to  go  down  throws  the  tail  up  and 
oyer — hence  the  error,  as  I  consider  it.  Any  one  who  will 
take  the  trouble  to  throw  house  flies  to  trout  in  an 
aquarium,  will  never  again  think  trout  strike  their  prey 
with  their  tails. 

The  kinds  of  flies  to  be  used  vary  with  the  locality, 
stream,  state  and  stage  of  the  water,  weather,  etc.  The 
fly  that  pleased  the  fancy  of  the  trout  to-day — ^to-morrow 
perhaps  in  the  same  stream  and  under  the  same 
conditions,  as  far  as  any  one  could  see,  would  fail. 
The  only  way  is  to  keep  trying  until  the  one  is  found 
that  does  please.  Don't  change  too  often,  but  give 
each  "cast"  a  fair  trial. 

I  do  not  believe  in  certain  flies  for  certain  months  in 
the  year.  I  have  stood  up  to  my  knees  in  snow  and 
taken  trout,  in  mid-winter,  with  the  same  flies  I  had 
used  in  mid-summer. 

In  low,  clear  water,  especially  in  streams,  small  flies 
should  be  used.  In  higher  water,  larger  flies  are  better, 
as  a  rule.  When  the  water  is  high — as  early  in  the 
season — ^larger  and  brighter-colored  flies  may  be  used  to 
more  advantage.  Later,  when  the  water  is  low  and  clear, 
smaller  flies  and  more  sober  colors  are  best.  I  believe, 
however,  that  rules  for  the  choice  of  flies  have  a  great 
many  exceptions,  and  the  best  rule  I  know  of,  is  to 
keep  trying  different  kinds  and  sizes  until  successful. 


SUGGESTIONS.  255 

It  is  often  said,  "there  is  no  need  of  so  great  a  yariety 
of  flies."  I  do  not  think  this  is  true.  Doubtless  there 
are  many  styles  that  might  well  be  dispensed  with,  but 
one  never  knows  which  to  discard,  and  no  man  can 
tell  him,  for  the  very  flies  one  man  would  say  were 
worthless,  another  would  consider  the  best — and  prove 
it,  plainly,  by  the  success  he  had  had  with  that  very 
fly.  So  it  is  well  to  be  provided  with  many  kinds  and 
sizes.  I  have  learned  of  the  merits  of  so  many  differ- 
ent kinds  of  flies  that  I  sometimes  think  nearly  all  are 
good — at  some  time  or  under  some  circumstances. 
There  is  much  doubt  in  my  mind  as  to  the  neces- 
sity of  having  the  artificial  flies  like  the  insects  that  are 
near  or  on  the  water.  One  of  the  best  flies  that  has 
ever  been  known — the  Coachman — does  not  in  the 
least  resemble  any  known  insect,  I  believe — and  but  few 
of  the  many  patterns  made  imitate  anything  in  nature. 
The  Cowdung  fly,  another  one  of  the  most  "  taking  " 
flies — does  very  much  resemble  the  natural  fly  of  that 
name — but  I  never  saw  or  heard  of  their  being  on  or 
near  the  water. 

Early  in  the  season,  while  the  weather  is  yet  cold, 
the  middle  of  the  day  is  usually  quite  as  good,  and  I 
think  the  best  time  for  fly-fishing.  Later,  in  warm 
weather,  the  evening  is  the  best,  and  often  the  last  two 
hours  of  a  pleasant  day  are  worth  all  the  rest  of  it. 

Generally  speaking,  a  gentle  southerly  breeze  is  the 
most  favorable  wind ;  yet  I  have  had  splendid  sport 
during  a  strong  north-easterly  wind,  but  not  often. 


256  FISHmCr  WITH  THE  FLY. 

In  conclusion,  be  patient  and  persevering,  move 
quietly,  step  lightly,  keep  as  much  out  of  sight  of  the 
fish  as  possible,  and  remember,  trout  are  not  feeding 
all  the  time.  Perhaps  during  the  last  hour  before  dark 
you  may  fill  your  basket,  that  has  been  nearly  empty 
since  noon.  Don't  give  up,  as  long  as  you  can  see 
— or  even  after — and  you  may  when  about  to  despair 
take  some  fine  large  fish. 

Unless  one  can  enjoy  himself  fishing  with  the  fly,  even 
when  his  efforts  are  unrewarded,  he  loses  much  real 
l^leasure.  More  than  half  the  intense  enjoyment  of  fly- 
fishing is  derived  from  the  beautiful  surroundings,  the 
satisfaction  felt  from  being  in  the  open  air,  the  new 
lease  of  life  secured  thereby,  and  the  many,  many 
pleasant  recollections  of  all  one  has  seen,  heard  and 
done. 


L 


B  A  S  S      FLIE  S 


Made  by  C  F.ORVIS,  Manchester, Vt 


COPYR  IG  H  TED 


*'  Doubt  not,  therefore,  sir,  but  that  angling  is  an  art,  and  an 
art  worth  your  learning  ;  the  question  is,  rather,  whether  you  be 
capable  of  learning  it,  for  angling  is  somewhat  like  poetry,  men 
are  to  be  born  so  :  I  mean  with  inclinations  to  it,  though  both 
may  be  heightened  by  discourse  and  practice  ;  but  he  that  hopes 
to  be  a  good  angler  must  not  only  bring  an  inquiring,  searching, 
observing  wit,  but  he  must  bring  a  large  measure  of  hope  and 
patience,  and  a  love  and  propensity  to  the  art  itself  ;  but  having 
once  got  and  practised  it,  then  doubt  not  but  angling  will  prove 
to  be  so  pleasant  that  it  will  prove  to  be  like  virtue,  a  reward  to 
itself." — Izaak  Walton. 

'*  The  black  bass  are  unquestionably  as  fine  a  fish  for  angling 
purposes  as  any  we  possess,  and  as  an  article  of  food  are  equal  to 
our  best." — Parher  GUmore, 


I.  Cheney. 

2.  White  Miller. 

3.  La  Belle. 

4.  Scarlet  Ibis. 

5.  Shad-Fly. 

6.  Green  and  Gold. 

"Never  use  too  much  power  in  casting  ;  it  is  not  only  not 
necessary,  but  it  is  injurious.  You  cast  the  line  with  the  top  and 
half  the  second  joint,  and  very  little  force  suffices  to  bring  this 
into  play.  If  you  use  more,  all  the  effect  is  to  bring  the  lower  part 
of  the  rod  into  action,  which  has  very  little  spring  compared  with 
the  top  of  it." — Francis  Francis. 

*'  Although  trout  are  taken  with  numerous  grub  and  angle 
worms,  still  frequently  all  these  will  fail,  and  a  brilliant  colored 
imitation  of  a  fly  will  lure  them,  and  herein  largely  consists  the 
science  of  the  fisherman,  in  judging  what  style  of  fly  is  appropri- 
ate to  a  peculiar  state  of  the  atmosphere  or  locality." — T.  Robin- 
son Warren. 

"  Black  bass  when  struck  and  played  will  always  head  down 
stream." — W,  C,  Harris. 


**  Fish  always  lose  by  being  '  got  in  and  dressed. '  It  is  best  to 
weigh  them  while  they  are  in  the  water.  The  only  really  large 
one  I  ever  caught  got  away  with  my  leader  when  I  first  struck 
him.     He  weighed  ten  pounds." — Charles  Dudley  Warner. 

"  The  aim  of  the  angler  ought  to  be,  to  have  his  artificial  fly 
calculated,  by  its  form  and  colors,  to  attract  the  notice  of  the  fish  ; 
in  which  case  he  has  a  much  greater  chance  of  success,  than  by 
making  the  greatest  efforts  to  imitate  any  particular  species  of  fly." 
— Professor  Rennie. 


"I  fear  it  will  be  almost  deemed  heresy  to  place  the  black 
on  a  par  with  the  trout  ;  at  least,  some  such  idea  1  had  when  I 
first  heard  the  two  compared  ;  but  I  am  bold,  and  will  go  further. 
I  consider  he  is  the  superior  of  the  two,  for  he  is  equally  good  as 
an  article  of  food,  and  much  stronger  and  untiring  in  his  efforts 
to  escape  when  hooked. " — Panrker  Oilmore. 

"  The  one  great  ingredient  in  successful  fly-fishing  is  patience. 
The  man  whose  fly  is  always  on  the  water  has  the  best  chance. 
There  is  always  a  chance  of  a  fish  or  two,  no  matter  how  hopeless 
it  looks.  You  never  know  what  may  happen  in  fly-fishing." — 
Francis  Francis. 

*•  In  bass  fishing  we  have  thought  the  moon  to  be  an  advantage. 
If  it  does  not  guide  the  prey  to  the  lure,  it  at  least  lends  beauty 
to  the  scene  and  bathes  in  its  pale  light  the  surroundings  of  the 
fisherman,  which  are  often  so  exceedingly  beautiful.  In  addition, 
it  assists  him  in  his  work  and  enables  him  to  handle  his  tackle 
more  easily  and  play  his  fish  more  comfortably." — Seth  Green. 

"Recreation  and  amusement  are  the  objects  we  seek;  and 
therefore  is  it  not  reasonable  to  conclude  that  whatever  methods 
and  whatever  appliances  best  conduce  to  these  results  are  the  best 
in  themselves,  even  though  the  total  catch  were  a  little  dimin- 
ished thereby?"— -He/iT^  P.  WeUs. 


THE    EESOURCES   OF   FLY-PISHING. 

BY 

DR.  JAMES  A.  HENSHALL. 


The  charms  of  fly-fishing  have  been  sung  in  song  and 
story  from  time  immemorial  by  the  poetically  gifted 
devotees  of  the  gentle  art,  who  have  embalmed  the 
memory  of  its  aesthetic  features  in  the  living  green  of 
^graceful  ferns,  in  the  sweet-scented  flowers  of  dell  and 
dingle,  and  in  the  liquid  music  of  purling  streams. 

The  fly-fisher  is  a  lover  of  Nature,  pure  and  simple, 
and  has  a  true  and  just  appreciation  of  her  poetic  side, 
though  he  may  lack  the  artist's  skill  to  limn  her  beau- 
ties, or  the  poet's  genius  to  describe  them. 

"  To  him  who  in  the  love  of  Nature  holds 
Communion  with  her  visible  forms,  she  speaks 
A  various  language." 

And  what  delightful  converse  she  holds  with  the  fly- 
fisher,  as  with  rod  and  creel  he  follows  the  banks  of  the 
meandering  stream,  or  wades  its  pellucid  waters,  casting, 
ever  and  anon,  the  gossamer  leader  and  feathery  lure  into 
shadowy  nooks,  below  sunny  rapids,  over  foam-flecked 
eddies,  and  on  silent  pools.  She  speaks  to  him  through 
the  rustling  leaves,  murmurs  to  him  from  the  flowing 


260  FISHING  WITH  THE  FLY, 

stream,  and  sighs  to  him  in  the  summer  breeze.  She  is 
Tocal  in  a  myriad  of  voices,  and  manifest  in  innumera- 
ble ways. 

The  still  fisher,  reclining  on  the  mossy  bank,  is  dis- 
posed to  dreamy  reveries,  to  pleasant  fancies ;  but  the 
fly-fisher,  with  quickened  senses,  has  an  ear  for  every 
sound,  an  eye  for  every  object,  and  is  alive  to  every 
motion.  He  hears  the  hum  of  the  bee,  the  chirp  of  the 
cricket,  the  twitter  of  the  sparrow,  the  dip  of  the  swal- 
low ;  he  sees  the  gay  butterfly  in  its  uncertain  flight,  the 
shadow  of  the  drifting  cloud,  the  mossy  rock,  the  modest 
violet,  the  open-eyed  daisy  ;  he  is  conscious  of  the  pass- 
ing breeze,  of  the  mellow  sunlight,  of  the  odors  of  the 
flowers,  of  the  fragrance  of  the  fields.  Nothing  escapes 
his  keen  notice  as  he  casts  his  flies,  hither  and  yon,  in 
the  eager  expectation  of  a  rise. 

Fly-fishing  is,  indeed,  the  poetry  of  angling.  The 
capture  of  the  salmon  is  an  epic  poem,  the  taking  of  the 
trout  an  idyl.  But  it  is  not  my  presumptuous  purpose 
to  ring  the  changes  on  the  delights  of  salmon  or  trout 
fishing,  for  they  have  been  immortalized  by  the  pens  of 
gifted  anglers  for  ages.  My  feeble  effort  would  be  but  a 
sorry  imitation  of  those  glorious  spirits  who  have  made 
their  last  cast,  who  have  crossed  to  the  other  side  of  the 
river,  and 

*'  Gone  before 
To  that  unknown  and  silent  shore." 

So,  leaving  the  salmon,  the  trout,  and  the  grayling  to 
their  well-earned  laurels,  I  wish  to  say  a  word  for  several 


THE  RESOURCES  OF  FLY-FISHING.  261 

iess  pretentious,  because  less  known,  game-fishes,  whose 
merits  are  perhaps  as  great  for  the  fly-fisher  as  those  fa- 
miliar game-beauties  of  the  waters. 

It  is  among  the  possibilities,  in  this  world  of  transitory 
things,  that  fly-fishing  for  the  salmonids  in  the  United 
States  will,  in  the  near  future,  be  known  only  by  tradi- 
tion. It  should,  therefore,  be  a  source  of  great  consola- 
tion to  the  fly-fisher  to  know  that  there  are  now,  and 
perhaps  will  ever  be,  in  the  streams  and  lakes  of  this 
broad  land,  percoid  game-fishes  equally  worthy  of  his 
skill,  which  require  only  to  be  known  to  be  properly 
appreciated. 

First  among  these  is  the  black  bass,  which  already 
ranks  the  brook  trout  in  the  estimation  of  those  anglers 
who  know  him  best :  and  when  I  say  black  bass.  I  in- 
clude both  species.  The  black  bass  is,  at  least,  the  peer 
of  the  trout  in  game  qualities,  and  in  rising  to  the  ar- 
tificial fly,  under  proper  conditions.  An  allusion  to  a 
few  of  these  conditions  may  not  seem  out  of  place. 

As  a  rule,  the  best  time  of  day  for  fly-fishing  for  the 
black  bass  is  from  an  hour  before  sunset  until  dark, 
though  there  are  times  when  he  will  rise  to  the  fiy  at 
almost  any  hour  of  the  day. 

It  is  important  that  the  angler  keep  out  of  sight,  and 
that  the  shadow  of  his  rod  be  not  disclosed  to  the  wary 
and  suspicious  bass  ;  for  if  he  sees  either,  he  will  not 
notice  the  flies,  however  skillfully  and  coaxingly  they 
may  be  cast.  Thus  it  is  that  the  earlier  and  later  hours 
of  the  day  are  best ;  the  angler,  facing  the  sun,  the 


262  FISHING  WITH  THE  FLY. 

shadows  are  cast  far  behind  him  ;  or,  before  sunrise  or 
after  sunset,  or  on  cloudy  days,  the  shadows  are  not  so 
apparent,  and  the  bass  are  more  apt  to  rise.  If  the  fly- 
fisher  for  black  bass  will  faithfully  follow  these  precau- 
tions, he  will  not  be  disappointed  at  the  result. 

There  is  another  condition,  equally  important,  that 
must  ever  be  borne  in  mind  :  The  black  bass  will  rise 
to  the  fly  only  in  comparatively  shallow  water,  say  from 
one  to  six  feet  in  depth.  This  is  a  feature  often  over- 
looked by  many  %-fishers  in  their  first  experiences  in 
black  bass  fishing.  They  seem  to  think  that  he  should 
rise  to  the  fly  in  any  situation  where  he  can  be  taken 
with  bait ;  but  a  moment's  consideration  will  show  this 
to  be  fallacious.  A  brook  trout  will  take  a  bait  twenty 
feet  below  the  surface,  but  will  not  rise  to  a  fly  from 
the  same  depth.  Trout  streams  are  generally  shallow, 
while  the  salmon  swims  very  near  the  surface  ;  thus  it 
is  that  the  angler  is  seldom  disappointed  in  their  rising 
to  the  fly.  On  the  other  hand,  the  black  bass,  while 
inhabiting  larger  and  deeper  streams,  is,  unlike  the 
trout,  a  great  rover,  or  forager,  frequenting  both  deep 
and  shallow  waters.  As  a  rule,  he  is  in  shallow  water 
early  in  the  season,  retiring  to  the  depths  in  the  hottest 
weather ;  again  appearing  on  the  shallows  in  the  fall, 
and  in  winter  seeking  the  deepest  water  to  be  found. 
Trout  inhabiting  deep  ponds  and  lakes  rise  to  the  fly 
only  when  in  comparatively  shallow  water,  or  when  near 
the  surface.  The  fly-fisher,  therefore,  must  expect  to 
be  successful  only  when  the  proper  conditions  exist.     I 


THE  RESO  URGES  OF  FL  Y-FI8HmO.  263 

would  like  to  pursue  this  subject  further,  but  in  so  brief 
an  article  as  this,  only  the  most  general  and  important 
features  can  be  noticed. 

Any  good  trout  fly-rod,  from,  ten  to  eleyen  feet  long, 
and  from  eight  to  nine  ounces  in  weight,  will  answer  for 
black  bass  fishing ;  the  heavier  rod  to  be  used  only  where 
the  bass  run  quite  large,  averaging  three  pounds  or 
more.  The  best  line  is  one  of  braided  silk,  tapered, 
waterproof,  and  polished.  The  leader  should  be  six  feet 
of  strong  single  gut,  and  but  two  flies  should  be  used  in 
the  cast.  As  to  flies,  the  angler  must* take  his  choice. 
My  experience  has  led  me  to  confine  myself  to  a  dozen 
varieties  for  black  bass  fishing,  and  they  are  usually, 
though  not  always,  best  in  the  order  named :  Polka, 
King  of  the  Waters,  Professor,  Oriole,  Grizzly  King, 
Coachman,  Henshall,  Oconomowoc,  Red  Ibis,  Lord 
Baltimore,  White  and  Ibis,  and  the  various  hackles 
(palmers),  the  best  being  the  brown.  The  Abbey,  or 
Soldier,  may  often  be  substituted  for  the  King  of  the 
Waters,  being  similar  in  appearance,  and  others  may 
be  substituted  in  like  manner  for  several  in  the 
above  list. 

The  Polka,  Oriole,  Oconomowoc  and  Henshall,  are 
flies  of  my  own  designing,  and  are  usually  very  killing, 
especially  the  Polka.     Their  construction  is  as  follows : 

Polka. — Body,  scarlet,  gold  twist  ;  hackle,  red  ; 
wings  black  with  white  spots  (guinea  fowl)  ;  tail, 
brown  and  white,  mixed. 

Okiole. — Body,  black,  gold  tinsel ;  hackle,  black ; 


I 


264  FISHma  WITH  THE  FLY, 

wings,  yellow  or  orange  ;  tail,  black  and  yellow, 
mixed. 

OcoNOMOWOC. — Body,  creamy  yellow  ;  hackle,  white 
and  dun  (deer's  tail) ;  tail,  ginger ;  wings,  cinnamon 
(woodcock). 

Hekshall. — Body,  peacock  herl  ;  hackle,  white 
hairs  from  deer's  tail ;  wings,  light  drab  (dove)  ]  tail, 
two  or  three  fibres  of  peacock's  tail-feather. 

The  Lord  Baltimore  fly  originated  with  Prof.  Alfred 
M.  Mayer,  of  the  Stevens  Institute  of  Technology,  Ho- 
boken,  New  Jersey,  its  formula  being  as  follows  : 

LoED  Baltimore. — Body,  orange  ;  hackle,  tail,  and 
wings  black,  with  small  upper  wings  of  jungle-cock. 

Professor  Mayer  and  myself,  being  natives  of  Balti- 
more, designed,  unknown  to  each  other,  a  fly  to  embody 
the  heraldic  colors  of  Lord  Baltimore  and  the  coat  of 
arms  of  Maryland — black  and  orange.  He  named  his 
fly,  ''Lord  Baltimore,"  while  mine  I  designated  the 
''  Oriole,"  from  the  Baltimore  oriole,  or  hanging  bird, 
which  beautiful  songster  was  named  in  honor  of  Lord 
Baltimore,  its  colors  being  black  and  orange. 

Black  bass  flies  should  not  be  too  large,  nor  yet  too 
small,  the  largest  brook  trout  flies  being  about  the  right 
size.  They  should  be  tied  on  Sproat  or  O'Shaughnessy 
hooks,  the  first-named  being  the  best,  from  Nos.  2 
to  5.  In  the  above  list  of  flies,  most  of  them  are 
"general"  flies,  one  of  which,  at  least,  can  be  used  in 
the  cast  under  almost  any  circumstances.  The  darkest 
ones  are  best  for  bright  days  and  clear  water,  the 


THE  BE80  miGES  OF  FL  T-FISHINO.  265 

brighter  ones  for  dark  days  or  high  water,  and  the 
liglitest  ones,  e.  g.,  Coachman  and  White  and  Ibis,  after 
sundown. 

There  are  several  other  inland  fishes  belonging  to  the 
same  family  {CentrarchidcB)  as  the  black  bass,  which, 
though  generally  lightly  esteemed,  are  good  pan-fishes, 
are  quite  gamy,  will  rise  eagerly  to  the  fly,  and  in  the 
absence  of  more  desirable  fishes,  afford  good  sport  to  the 
fly-fisher  with  light  and  suitable  tackle. 

The  Rock  Bass  {AmUoplites  rupestris),  sometimes 
called  *'  Red-eye,"  is  well-known  west  of  the  Allegha- 
nies.  Its  color  is  olive-green,  with  dark  mottled  mark- 
ings and  brassy  and  coppery  reflections.  The  iris  of  the 
eye  is  scarlet.  The  dorsal  fin  has  eleven  spines  and 
eleven  soft  rays ;  anal  fin,  six  spines  and  ten  soft  rays. 
It  has  a  large  mouth,  rises  well  to  the  fly,  and  when  it 
attains  its  maximum  weight  of  a  pound  or  two,  fights 
vigorously  on  a  six-ounce  fly-rod  and  light  tackle.  Any 
of  the  "general "  trout  flies,  tied  on  Sproat  books,  Nos. 
5  to  7,  will  answer  for  rock  bass. 

The  Calico  Bass  {Pomoxys  sparoides),  variously 
known  as  ^'Northern  Croppie,"  "Strawberry  Bass," 
"Grass  Bass,"  "Silver  Bass,"  "Chincapin  Perch," 
etc.,  is  a  very  handsome  fish,  bright  green  and  silvery, 
with  purplish  reflections,  and  numerous  dark  spots  or 
blotches.  The  fins  are  also  much  mottled,  especiallj) 
the  anal  fin.  It  has  a  smaller  mouth,  and  is  not  quite 
so  gamy  as  the  rock  bass,  but  is,  withal,  a  great  fa- 
vorite with  many  anglers.     The  radial  formula  of  its 


206  FISEIJSrG  WITIT  THU  FLY, 

fins  are  :  Dorsal,  seyen  spines,  fifteen  soft  rays  ;  anal, 
six  spines,  eighteen  soft  rays. 

The  Southern"  Oroppie  {Pomoxys  annularis)  is 
also  called  "Bachelor,''  "Tin-mouth,"  "Speckled- 
perch,"  "New-light,*"  "Campbellite,"  etc.  It  is  closely 
allied  to  the  last-named  species,  but  is  not  quite  so  deep 
in  body,  and  has  a  larger,  thinner,  and  more  delicate 
mouth.  It  is  also  much  lighter  in  color,  olivaceous, 
and  silvery,  sometimes  quite  pale,  with  much  smaller 
spots,  and  the  anal  fin  is  pale  and  scarcely  marked.  Its 
dorsal  fin  has  but  six  spines,  and  fifteen  soft  rays  ;  anal 
fin,  six  spines,  eighteen  rays.  Both  the  "Croppies" 
have  large  anal  fins,  fully  as  large  as  the  dorsals.  They 
grow  to  two  or  three  pounds  in  weight,  usually  swim  in 
schools,  and  lurk  about  logs,  brush,  or  fallen  trees,  under 
dams,  etc.  They  give  fair  sport  on  a  five-ounce  rod. 
Trout  flies  of  subdued  tints  should  be  used  for  croppies, 
as  the  gray,  brown  and  red  hackles,  gray  drake,  brown 
drake,  stone  fly,  black  gnat,  blue  dun,  etc. 

The  Black  Sukfish  ( Chmnohryttus  gulosus),  known 
in  the  South  as  the  "  War-mouth  Perch,"  is  more  nearly 
related  to  the  black  bass  than  any  other  member  of  the 
family  in  its  large  mouth,  the  radial  formula  of  its  fins, 
and  to  some  extent  in  its  coloration  ;  it  also  partakes  of 
the  gamy  nature  of  the  black  bass  to  no  inconsiderable 
degree.  Its  color  is  dark  olive-green  on  the  back,  the 
sides  lighter,  with  blotches  of  blue  and  coppery  red,  the 
belly  brassy  or  yellowish  ;  iris  red  ;  ear-flap  black,  bor- 
dered with  pale  red.   It  has  teeth  on  the  tongue.  Dorsal 


THE  RESO  URGES  OF  FL  T-FISHING.  267 

fin,  ten  spines,  nine  soft  rays  ;  anal,  three  spines,  eight 
rays.  With  a  six-ounce  fly-rod,  and  any  of  the  flies 
named  for  black  bass,  the  fly-fisher  will  find  this  fish 
worthy  of  his  steel,  as  it  grows  to  two  pounds  in 
weight. 

The  Blue  Sukfish  {Lepomis  palUdus)  is  a  very 
common  and  widely-diifused  species.  In  the  South,  it 
is  known  as  the  *'  Blue  Bream,"  and  "  Copper-nosed 
Bream."  Its  mouth  is  quite  small.  In  color  it  is  oliva- 
ceous or  bluish-green,  with  a  distinct  dusky  spot  on  the 
last  rays  of  dorsal  and  anal  fins.  The  dorsal  has  ten 
spines,  eleven  rays ;  anal,  three  spines  and  ten  soft  rays. 
It  is  closely  allied  to  the  following  species. 

The  Long-eared  Sun^fish  {Lepomis  megalotis),  or 
*^Eed-bellied  Bream,"  or  ^^  Ked-bellied  Perch,"  of  the 
Southwest,  is  one  of  the  handsomest  sunfishes.  Its 
color  is  bluish  on  the  back,  with  the  belly  red  or  orange ; 
cheeks  with  blue  and  red  stripes  ;  colors  very  brilliant ; 
iris  bright  red  ;  ear-flap  very  large,  black,  with  pale 
border.  Dorsal  fin  with  ten  spines,  ten  soft  rays  ;  anal, 
three  spines,  ten  rays.  Both  this  and  the  last-named 
species  are  quite  wary,  very  gamy,  and  are  greatly  es- 
teemed by  Southern  anglers,  and  not  without  reason. 
When  they  reach  a  pound  or  two  in  weight  they  furnish 
excellent  sport  on  a  five-ounce  rod.  Any  of  the  trout- 
flies  of  gay  patterns,  as  Bed  Ibis,  White  and  Ibis, 
Professor,  Grizzly  King,  etc.,  on  Sproat  hooks,  Nos.  8  to 
10,  will  answer,  if  the  day  be  not  too  bright,  in  which 
event  less  showy  flies  should  be  used.   As  a  rule,  any  of 


268  FISHING  WITH  THE  FLY, 

the  hackles  (palmers),  are  good  flies  for  these  or  any 
fishes  of  this  family. 

The  striped -bass  group,  or  sub-family  {LabracincB), 
is  composed  of  some  of  our  best  game-fishes.  They  will 
all  rise  to  the  fly,  but  more  especially  the  fresh  water 
species.  Those  of  the  coast,  the  striped-bass  or  rock- 
fish  {Roccus  lineatus),  and  the  white  perch  (Eoccus 
americanus),  when  they  enter  brackish  and  fresh-water 
streams,  are  frequently  taken  with  a  gaudy  fly. 

The  "White  Bass  (Roccus  chrysops),  also  called 
*'  Striped  Lake  Bass,"  and  "  Fresh-water  Striped  Bass," 
is  a  well-known  game-fish  of  the  great  lakes  and  Upper 
Mississippi  Valley,  and  is  rightly  held  in  much  favor 
by  western  anglers.  Its  color  is  silvery,  darker  above, 
with  a  number  of  dark  stripes  along  the  sides,  four  or 
five  being  above  the  lateral  line.  The  mouth  is  large. 
There  are  two  distinct  dorsal  fins,  being  entirely  sepa- 
rated. The  first  dorsal  has  nine  spines ;  the  second 
dorsal,  one  spine  and  fourteen  soft  rays  ;  anal  fin  has 
three  spines  and  twelve  soft  rays.  A  patch  of  teeth  on 
base  of  tongue.  Its  usual  weight  is  one  to  three  pounds, 
though  it  is  occasionally  taken  up  to  four  or  five 
pounds.  It  is  good  game,  rises  well  to  the  fly,  and  on 
a  six  or  seven-ounce  rod  is  capable  of  giving  fine  sport. 

The  Yellow  Bass  {Roccus  interruptus),  or  *^  Bras- 
sy Bass,"  or  ''  Short  Striped  Bass"  takes  the  place  of 
the  white  bass  in  the  Lower  Mississippi  Valley,  and  is 
closely  allied  to  it,  though  it  usually  does  not  grow  so 
large  by  a  pound  or  two.     It  has  a  smaller  mouth,  and 


THE  BE80  URGES  OF  FL  Y-FI SUING,  269 

has  no  teeth  on  the  base  of  its  tongue.  Its  color  is 
brassy,  olivaceous  above,  with  seven  very  black  stripes 
along  its  sides.  The  dorsal  fins  are  somewhat  connected 
at  the  base.  First  dorsal  has  nine  spines  ;  second  dor- 
sal has  one  spine  and  twelve  soft  rays  ;  anal  fin,  three 
spines,  nine  soft  rays.  Any  of  the  flies  recommended 
for  the  black  bass,  though  made  smaller  and  tied  on 
Sproat  hooks,  Nos.  4  to  6,  will  be  found  excellent  for 
the  white  and  yellow  bass. 

In  the  perch  family  {Percidce)  are  several  species 
that  are  excellent  for  the  table,  and  not  to  be  despised 
as  game-fishes.     The  most  commonly  known  is 

The  Yellow  Perch  {Perca  americana),  which  in- 
habits most  of  the  waters  of  the  Northwest  and  East, 
being  found  in  both  fresh  and  brackish  waters.  In 
color  it  is  dark  olive  with  yellow  sides,  and  some  half- 
dozen  dark  vertical  bars  ;  upper  fins,  dusky  yellowish  ; 
lower  fins,  reddish.  Mouth  moderate  in  size.  First 
dorsal  fin  has  thirteen  spines  ;  second  dorsal,  one  spine 
and  thirteen  soft  rays  ;  anal,  two  spines,  eight  soft  rays. 
It  grows  usually  to  a  pound,  though  sometimes  to 
double  that  weight.  It  rises  pretty  well  at  times,  to  a 
small  gaudy  fly,  and  on  a  five-ounce  rod  will  give  con- 
siderable sport  to  the  angler. 

The  Pike-Perch  {Stizostedium  vitreum),  likewise 
known  as  "  Wall-eyed  Pike,"  "  Glass  Eye,"  and  in  some 
waters  called  "Salmon,"  and  in  Canada  known  as 
"  Pickerel,"  is  a  fine  table  fish,  growing  occasionally 
to  fifteen  or  twenty,  and  even  to  forty  pounds,  though 


270  FISHING  WITH  THE  FLY. 

its  usual  weight  is  from  four  to  six  pounds.  Its  color 
is  a  greenish-olive,  mottled  with  brassy  yellow  ;  it  has 
a  large  black  spot  on  the  first  dorsal  fin.  Eye  large. 
First  dorsal  fin  has  thirteen  spines  ;  second  dorsal,  two 
spines  and  twenty  soft  rays ;  anal,  two  spines,  twelve 
rays. 

There  is  a  much  smaller  variety  of  this  species  (var. 
salmoneum),  which  grows  to  but  two  or  three  pounds. 
It  has  a  larger  eye.  Its  color  is  bluer,  or  greener  than 
the  above,  and  not  so  brassy.  First  dorsal  has  four- 
teen spines  ;  second  dorsal,  one  spine,  twenty  soft  rays; 
anal  fin,  two  spines,  thirteen  soft  rays. 

Both  of  these  fishes,  together  with  the  next-named, 
are  hard-pulling,  vigorous  fishes  on  the  rod,  though 
they  do  not  exhibit  much  dash  or  take  much  line.  They 
swim  away  rather  slowly,  but  are  constantly  jerking, 
tugging  and  pulling  on  the  line  in  such  a, way  as  to 
compel  the  angler  to  handle  them  carefully  to  preserve 
his  tackle  intact.  They  are  regarded  with  much  favor 
by  anglers  in  the  West  and  Northwest.  The  same  tackle 
is  used  as  for  black  bass. 

The  Sauger  (Stizosfedium  canadense)  is  also  called 
"Jack,"  "Sand-pike,"  "Gray-pike,"  and  "Rattle- 
snake-pike." It  is  closely  related  to  the  foregoing 
species,  though  smaller,  growing  to  a  length  of  twelve 
to  fifteen  inches.  It  is  longer  and  rounder  in  propor- 
tion than  any  of  the  pike-perches,  with  a  more  pointed 
head  and  smaller  eye.  Its  color  is  paler,  grayish  above, 
with  brassy  sides,  which  are  marked  by  several  blackish 


THE  RESOURCES  OF  FLY-FISHING.  271 

blotches  or  patches.  First  dorsal  fin  has  two  or  three 
rows  of  round  black  spots.  First  dorsal  has  twelve 
spines  ;  second  dorsal,  one  spine,  seventeen  soft  rays  ; 
anal,  two  spines,  twelve  soft  rays. 

Both  species  of  pike-perch  are  nocturnal  (the  last  not 
so  much  so),  and  are  very  similar  in  their  habits. 
Usually  they  rise  best  to  the  fly  at  sundown,  contin- 
uing until  late  in  the  evening,  especially  on  moonlight 
nights  ;  therefore  at  least  one  fly  in  the  cast  should  be 
some  light-colored  fly,  as  the  Coachman,  White  and 
Ibis,  or  Miller.  Sometimes,  however,  darker  flies  are 
just  as  good  after  nightfall  as  during  daylight.  The 
flies  for  pike-perch  should  be  as  large  or  larger  than 
bass  flies,  and  should  be  tied  on  Sproat  hooks,  Nos.  1 
to  3. 

The  angler  who  is  so  unfortunately  situated  as  to  be 
debarred  from  salmon,  trout,  or  black  bass  fly-fishing, 
can  always  find  in  the  small  streams  or  ponds  near 
him,  one  or  more  of  the  fishes  described  in  the  forego- 
ing account,  when,  by  the  use  of  very  light  and  suitable 
tackle,  he  can  enjoy  to  a  great  degree  the  delights  and 
pleasures  of  flyrfishing. 

Even  the  despised  pike  or  pickerel  species  {Esocidce) 
and  some  of  the  catfishes  will  rise  to  a  large  and  gaudy 
fly.  In  Florida  I  have  taken  catflsh  with  the  artificial 
fly  until  my  arms  ached  and  I  was  fain  to  cry  quits.  I 
have  also  taken  many  marine  species  with  the  fly,  as 
red-fish,  blue-fish,  sea-trout,  snappers,  groupers,  cre- 
valle,  bone-fish,  snooks,  etc.,  etc.,  and  once,  as  a  matter 


( 


272  FISHING  WITH  THE  FLY. 

of  experiment,  a  five-foot  alligator.  The  'gator  was 
taken  with  a  '^fly  "  tied  on  a  shark-hook,  the  hackled 
body  being  a  squirrel's  tail,  with  wings  of  a  small  sea- 
gull. The  rod,  used  on  that  occasion  only,  was  alight 
pine  sprit  (belonging  to  the  sail  of  a  small  boat),  fifteen 
feet  in  length,  an  inch  and  a  half  in  diameter  at  the 
centre  and  tapering  to  an  inch  at  each  end. 

Thus  it  will  be  seen  that  the  opportunities  and  re- 
sources for  fly-fishing  are  nearly  as  great  as  for  bait- 
fishing,  and  that  it  only  remains  for  the  angler  to  take 
advantage  of  them,  study  the  habits  of  the  fishes,  at- 
tain the  necessary  skill  in  casting,  and  j)ractice  due 
caution  in  fishing. 


^^•BASS      PIjIES 


Made  by  C.F.ORVIS.  Manchester.Vt 


COPYR  lO  H  TCD 


*'  All  the  charm  of  the  angler's  life  would  be  lost  but  for  these 
hours  of  thought  and  memory.  All  along  a  brook,  all  day  on 
lake  or  river,  while  he  takes  his  sport,  he  thinks.  All  the  long 
evenings  in  camp,  or  cottage,  or  inn,  he  tells  stories  of  his  own 
life,  hears  stories  of  his  friends'  lives,  and  if  alone  calls  up  the 
magic  of  memory." — W.  C.  Prime. 

*'It  is  a  mooted  question  among  the  very  best  *  fly-fishers,' 
whether  an  exact  representation  of  the  living  insect  is  neces- 
sary to  insure  success  in  angling  with  the  fly.  The  Scotch  flies 
are  not  imitations  of  living  insects  ;  and  the  best  anglers  in 
that  country  maintain  the  opinion  that  it  is  absolutely  useless  and 
unnecessary  to  imitate  any  insect  either  winged  or  otherwise." — 
''  Frank  Forester.** 

7.  Henshall.  8.  "  Oconomowoc." 

9.  Oriole.  10.  Polka. 

II.  Ondawa.  12.  "W.  T." 

**  Sometimes,  of  course,  the  loss  of  fish,  or  even  fish  and  tackle, 
cannot  be  avoided  :  but  good,  careful  work  and  the  best  materials 
will  frequently  obviate  so  annoying  an  ordeal.  However,  having 
struck  your  fish,  the  tackle  and  your  own  coolness  are  generally 
responsible  for  the  issue,  and  woe  betide  you  if  careless  knot  or- 
indifferent  tjing  should  have  been  made  in  constructing  your 
leader  or  fly." — Parker  Oilmore. 

"  It  is  well  known  that  no  person  who  regards  his  reputation 
will  ever  kill  a  trout  with  anything  but  a  fly.  It  requires  some 
training  on  the  part  of  the  trout  to  take  to  this  method.  The 
uncultivated,  unsophisticated  trout  in  unfrequented  waters  pre- 
fers the  bait  ;  and  the  rural  people,  whose  sole  object  in  going  a- 
fishing  appears  to  be  to  catch  fish,  indulge  them  in  their  primi- 
tive taste  for  the  worm.  No  sportsman,  however,  will  use  any- 
thing but  a  fly,  except  he  happens  to  be  alone." — Charles  Dudley 
Wa/rner. 


"The  true  fly- fisher,  who  practises  his  art  con  amove,  does  not 
delight  in  big  catches,  nor  revel  in  undue  and  cruel  slaughter. 
He  is  ever  satisfied  with  a  moderate  creel,  and  is  content  with  the 
scientific  and  skilful  capture  of  a  few  good  fish.  The  beauties  of 
nature,  as  revealed  in  his  surroundings — the  sparkling  water,  the 
shadow  and  sunshine,  the  rustling  leaves,  the  song  of  birds  and 
hum  of  insects,  the  health-giving  breeze — make  up  to  him  a 
measure  of  true  enjoyment,  and  peace,  and  thankfulness,  that  is 
totally  unknown  to  the  slaughterer  of  the  innocents,  whose  sole 
ambition  is  to  fill  his  creel  and  record  his  captures  by  the  score." 
— James  A.  Henshall,  M.D. 

**In  the  fly  book  the  sportsman  collects  his  treasures — the 
fairy  imitations  of  the  tiny  nymphs  of  the  water  side— and  it  is 
the  source  of  much  delight  in  inspecting,  replenishing  and  ar- 
ranging during  the  season  that  the  trout  are  safe  from  honorable 
pursuit." — R.  B.  Roosevelt. 

"  There  have  been  caught  in  Walden,  pickerel,  one  weighing 
seven  pounds,  to  say  nothing  of  another  which  carried  off  a  reel 
with  great  velocity,  which  the  fisherman  safely  set  down  at  eight 
pounds,  because  he  did  not  see  him.  I  am  thus  particular,  be- 
cause the  weight  of  a  fish  is  commonly  its  only  title  to  fame." — 
Henry  D.  Thoreau. 

*'  Wet  days  in  camp  try  *grit.'  'Clear  grit'  brightens  more 
crystalline  the  more  it  is  rained  upon  ;  sham  grit  dissolves  into 
mud  and  water." — Theodore  Winthrop. 

**  *I  ain't  got  no  objection  to  them  fellers  with  the  jinted  poles. 
And  I  don't  mind  nuther  their  standin'  off  and  throwin'  their 
flies  as  far  as  they've  a  mind  to.  But  what  does  rile  me  is  the 
cheeky  way  in  which  they  stand  up  and  say  there  isn't  no  decent 
way  of  fishin'  but  their  way.  But  if  you  feel  tetchy  about  it  you 
can  send  me  one  of  iJiem  poles  in  three  pieces^  a  good  strong  one."*  " — 
Frank  B.  Stockton. 


WINTEE  ANGLING. 

BY 

FRANK  S.  PINCKNEY. 


The  best  winter  angling  is  to  be  had  in  that  charm- 
ing interval  between  the  hallowed  old  holidays  and  that 
sloppy  period  which,  of  late  years,  heralds  the  slow 
approach  of  spring  in  these  our  latitudes. 

The  practice  of  angling  at  this  season  of  the  year  for 
large  trout,  immense  black  bass  and  preternatural 
mascalonge,  has  grown  of  late  to  proportions  which 
seem  to  warrant  some  special  mention  of  so  delightful, 
if  unseasonable,  a  sport,  as  well  as  some  brief  descrip- 
tion of  the  tackle  and  paraphernalia  required  for  its 
fullest  enjoyment. 

To  the  winter  angler  a  first-class  outfit  is  of  prime 
importance.  The  poles  should  be  of  well-seasoned 
hickory  or  hard  maple,  from  eight  to  ten  inches  in 
diameter,  in  sections  about  three  feet  in  length.  These 
need  not  to  be  divested  of  their  rich  covering  of  bark, 
curved,  bronzed  and  lichened,  but  should  be  fitted, 
fresh  from  the  sheltered  pile,  with  careful  skill  into  an 
old-fashioned  open  fire-place,  about  which,  in  years 
agone,  the  angling  forefathers  of  the  angler  of  to-day 
told  marvellous  tales  of  deeds  of  "  derring  do  "  with 


276  FI8HING  WITH  THE  FLY, 

"dipseys,"  bobs  and  poles;  and  about  which  now  his 
children  list  with  wonder,  not  •  nnmingled  with  some 
tinge  of  incredulity,  to  his  yet  more  wondrous  recitals 
of  brave  contests  and  curious  captures  with  dainty  rods 
and  delicate  reels. 

The  winter  angler's  wading  shoes  may  be  made  of 
any  soft  material  that  will  protect  his  feet  should  they 
chance  to  slip  from  the  old  brass  fender  down  upon 
the  sombre  painted  brick  hearth  below,  during  some 
delicious  drowse.  Most  anglers  have  lady  friends — 
fair  cousins  and  others,  who  make  them  nicely  with 
substantially  embroidered  lily-pads  and  firm  strong 
rosebuds  and  vigorous  elastic  daffadowndillys.  These 
are  a  good  protection — but  the  soles  ? 

Two  dollars  and  a  half,  without  hob  nails,  and  no 
deduction  for  small  feet  !  Even  winter  angling  has 
its  drawbacks. 

The  winter  angler's  fishing  coat  should  be  warmly 
quilted  to  protect  him  from  the  cold,  and  may  be  of  a 
color  to  suit  his  complexion  if  he  has  one.  It  should 
be  given  him  by  his  wife  or  "  ladye  faire  "  as  a  sample 
of  her  skill  in  manipulating  the  needle  and — the  dress- 
maker. 

As  to  the  kind  of  lure  required,  much  must  depend 
upon  the  taste  of  the  individual  angler,  but  it  certainly 
ought  to  be  hot  and  not  have  too  much  water  in  it. 

For  protection  against  black  flies,  midgets  and 
mosquitoes  he  may,  if  he  likes,  smear  his  face  and 
hands  with  oils  either  of  tar  or  of  pennyroyal,  or  he 


WINTER  ANGLING.  277 

may  build  a  ^^ smudge"  on  the  library  table,  but  the 
most  successful  winter  anglers  I  know  use  for  this 
purpose  a  hollow  tube  of  convenient  length  with  a 
bowl  at  one  end  and  a  set  of  teeth,  either  real  or 
artificial,  at  the  other.  The  bowl  may  be  filled  with 
any  harmless  weed  capable  of  burning  slowly  as,  for 
example,  tobacco.  As  a  rule,  one  of  these  will  answer 
the  purpose,  but  if  the  flies  are  especially  troublesome, 
or  the  angler  should  chance  to  be  bald-headed,  he  may 
be  forced  to  ask  a  brother  angler  to  come  to  his  assist- 
ance with  a  contrivance  of  a  similar  nature.  Together 
they  will  probably  be  able  to  defy  all  attacks  of  the 
black  flies  or  even  the  blues. 

As  to  creels  (or  baskets)  the  merest  mention  will 
suffice.  At  the  nearest  newspaper  office  will  be  found 
one  of  suitable  size  and  fair  proportions.  It  is  called 
a  "  waste  basket "  and  is  specially  constructed  to  hold 
the  abnormal  catches  made  by  winter  anglers. 

Possibly  the  highest  charm  of  winter  angling  (or  as 
some  call  it  ' 'Fireside  Fishing")  is  the  grand  wide 
ranging  freedom  of  it.  Three  vast  realms  are  at  one's 
command.  The  realm  of  Memory,  with  its  myriad 
streams  of  recollection  filled  with  the  fish  and  fancies  of 
the  Past.  The  realm  of  Anticipation  bright  with 
golden  dreams  of  the  coming  open  season,  and  lastly 
the  realm  of  Pure  Lying,  wherein  from  the  deep,  dark 
pools  of  his  own  inner  turpitude  the  angler  at  each 
cast  hooks  a  speckled-sided  Hallucination  {Salrm 
Hallucionidus),  a  large-mouthed  Prevarication   {Mi- 


278  FISHING   WITH  THE  FLY. 

cropterus  Prevaricatrix),  or  a  silver-gleaming  False- 
hood {Salmoides  Falsus),  each  more  huge  than  the 
other,  and  all  "beating  the  record"  quite  out  of  the 
field.* 

What  wonderful  yistas,  what  remotely  narrowing  per- 
spectives, stretch  away  into  the  vague  distances  of  the 
first  two  of  these  grand  realms  !  How  far  reachingly  the 
life-lines  of  anglers  uncoil  in  both  directions  from  the 
reel  of  time — "playing"  the  hoarded  treasures  of 
memory  at  one  end,  and  making  tournament  casts  into 
the  future  with  the  other  !  Are  not  the  time-worn  rod- 
case  and  the  well-thumbed  fly-book  and  note-book  on 
his  table,  side  by  side  with  the  last  daintily  tapered 
product  of  his  plane,  rasp  and  scraper — his  rod,  just 
finished  for  the  coming  summer — which,  perchance  for 
him  may  never  come  ? 

Is  he  not  at  once  revelling  in  the  past  and  dreaming 
of  the  future  ? 

There  is  no  sport,  when  known  in  all  its  branches, 
that  is  so  fully  an  all-the-year-round  delight  as  is 
angling. 

Many  an  idle  hour  of  the  long  winter  evenings  may 
be  pleasantly  passed  by  the  angler  in  "  going  over " 
his  tackle,  oiling  his  reels,  airing  his  lines,  and  re-ar- 
ranging his  flies,  freeing  them  from  the  moth  and  rust 
that  do  corrupt.    He  is  but  a  slovenly  worshipper  at  the 

*  Note — The  writer  respectfully  submits  this  nomenclature  to 
revision  by  Dr.  Henshall,  an  unquestioned  authority. 


WINTER  ANGLING.  279 

shrine  of  the  good  Saint  Izaak,  who  casts  aside  his 
panoply  after  the  last  bout  of  autumn  and  gives  no 
thought  to  it  again  till  spring  makes  her  annual  jail- 
delivery  of  imprisoned  life.  Constant  care  of  the  be-  ' 
longings  of  his  art,  be  he  fly  or  bait  fisher,  is  character- 
istic of  the  faithful  angler,  and  only  simple  justice 
to  the  tackle  maker.  There  is  nothing  sadder  or  more 
dejected-looking  than  a  crippled  rod  and  a  neglected 
*'kit"  full  of  snarled  lines,  rusty  hooks,  and  moth- 
eaten  flies. 

In  the  matter  of  winter  angling,  the  fly-fisherman 
has  a  decided  advantage  over  him  who  uses  bait  alone. 
The  art  for  him  has  more  side  issues.  He  may,  if  he 
can,  learn  to  tie  flies  or  contrive  and  constract  new- 
fangled fly-books.  The  effort  to  learn  will  probably 
ruin  his  temper  and  break  up  his  domestic  relations  if 
he  has  any,  but  it  is  not  for  me  to  say  that  ^^lejeu  ne 
vaut pas  la  chandelle.^^  If  no  domestic  ties  trend  him 
toward  caution  as  yet,  and  he  dreads  none  in  the 
future,  he  may  even  venture  the  attempt  to  make  his 
own  rods. 

Let  me  say  a  word  here  of  amateur  tackle-making 
from  the  standpoint  of  personal  experience.  It  is 
agreeable — it  is  even  fascinating,  but  it  does  not  pay; 
YBTj  few  have  the  mechanical  deftness,  the  patience, 
taste,  and  judgment  combined  to  really  excel  in  any  of  • 
its  branches.  No  young  man  with  a  career  to  make 
for  himself  fey  dint  of  constant  toil  or  close  application 
to  a  business  or  profession  has  any  right  to  devote  to 


280  FISHING  WITH  THE  FLY. 

these  arts  the  time  and  attention  they  demand  if  even 
a  fair  degree  of  skill  is  to  be  attained.  For  the  angler 
of  **  elegant  leisure  "  this  has  no  weight  perhaps,  but 
he  too  will,  as  a  rule,  find  better  tackle  than  he  can 
make,  readily  at  his  command  at  a  cost  so  inconsider- 
able as  to  quite  justify  me  in  saying  that  his  amateur 
work  will  not  pay — for,  if  he  be  young,  out-of-door 
sports  will  far  better  serve  to  lay  up  in  his  still  devel- 
oping frame  the  treasures  of  health  and  vitality  for 
future  use.  There  are  those,  indeed,  for  whom  it  is  a 
proper  employment  of  time  and  who  are  endowed  with 
the  peculiar  faculties  required.  To  such  it  is  a  charm- 
ing occupation,  a  delightful  distraction,  and  a  choice 
factor  in  the  enjoyment  of  the  winter  angler  by  the 
fireside. 

Every  angler  ought  to  keep  a  record  or  diary  of  his 
angling  bouts.  Most  anglers  do  so,  I  think.  Therein 
should  be  recorded  not  only  the  weight  and  size  of  daily 
catch,  the  number  saved,  and  the  number  thrown  lack, 
(I  look  back  with  especial  pride  upon  my  record  in  this 
direction),  but  also  some  jottings  of  scenes,  impressions, 
and  incidents.  Eeading  therefrom  years  after  at  the 
fireside  he  will  detect  a  faint  perfume  of  old  forests  in 
the  winter  air,  and  hear  again  in  fancy  the  swirl  of 
swift  waters  sweeping  among  mossy  rocks. 

I  take  up  my  own,  quoting  from  it  almost  at  random. 
Note,  if  you  please,  how,  in  untamed  words,  have  ex- 
pressed themselves  the  exhilaration  of  th^  stream — the 
tingling  of  healthy  blood  through  ample  veins — the  joy 


WINTER  ANGLING.  281 

in  nature's  aspects,  and  the  delightful  sense  of  unre- 
straint that  comes  only  of  fresh  air,  of  wholesome  ex- 
ercise, of  angling. 

'^May  20tJL —  *  *  *  The  streams  hereabout  lack 
two  important  elements  which  are  the  charm  of  my 
favorite kill,  to  wit,  picturesqueness  and  the  pos- 
sibility of  large  trout — ^large,  I  mean,  for  our  mountain 
brooks  where  still  found  au  naturel.  I  went  over  the 
other  day  to  Bright's  Run.  I  don't  know  exactly 
where  it  is,  and  I  consider  it  (next  to  Bright's  disease 
of  the  kidneys)  the  very  worst  thing  Bright  has  devel- 
oped. It  is  a  stream  such  as  might  properly  empty 
into  the  Dismal  Swamp,  and  find  itself  quite  at  home 
there.  It  is  totally  devoid  of  romantic  beauty — and 
nearly  so  of  trout.  I  never  worked  so  hard  in  my  life 
for  twenty- two  little  ones,  that  put  me  to  the  blush  as 
I  put  them  in  the  basket.  I  was  perpetually  in  a  row 
with  the  overhanging  thickets  and  the  underlying  logs, 
and  my  thoughts  were  a  monologue  of  exclamation 
points.  I  would  not  angle  in  Bright's  turgid  waters 
again  for  all  the  trout  the  most  minute  analysis  might 
discover  in  them. 

"  Yesterday  I  had  a  much  more  agreeable  day  without 
a  seven-mile  ride  on  a  pesky  buck-board.  I  went  quite 
alone,  up  the  Buckhill  as  far  as  the  Fall.  This  is  a 
pleasant  stream  full  of  Nature — and  sawdust — with 
here  and  there  a  speckled  trout  and  here  and  there  a 
black  snake.  (By  special  permission  of  Mr.  Tennyson.) 
There  really  are  now  and  then  cool  little  nooks  which 


282  FISHING  WITH  THE  FLY, 

make  one  envy  the  trout ;  and  an  occasional  spring 
dripping  with  a  fresh  rat-tat-tat  oyer  rocks  and  moss 
and  into  one's  whiskey  in  spite  of  all  one  can  do.  This 
sort  of  thing  is  what  makes  a  trout-stream  after  all. 
You  may  catch  a  whale  in  a  goose-pond  but  it  isn't 
angling.  To  me  much  depends  upon  surroundings.  I 
like  to  form  a  picturesque  part  of  a  picturesque  wliole. 
Even  when  there  is  no  audience  in  the  gallery. 

*^  Given,  a  dark  glen  fringed  with  pines  that  sigh  and 
pine  high  up  aloft — a  pool  whose  sweep  is  deep,  around 
which  rocks  in  tiers,  mossy  as  -tombstones  centuries 
old,  bow  their  heads  in  mourning — heads  crowned 
with  weeds,  and  grave-mounds  of  mother  earth,  and 
pallid  flowers,  pale  plants  and  sapless  vines  that  struggle 
through  shadows  of  a  day  in  coma,  laid  in  the  hearse 
of  night,  without  a  proper  permit,  and  I  am  happy.  I 
don't  know  just  why,  but  if  I  meet  an  undertaker  I 
mean  to  ask  him.  All  these  deei^,  dark  hiding  spots  of 
nature  seem  but  so  many  foils  to  the  keen  sense  of 
life  and  thrills  of  vitality  that  fill  me.  My  nervous 
system  sparkles  against  such  sombre  back-grounds. 

''Then,  too,  the  Fall  was  lovely.  Next  to  Niagara, 
the  Kauterskill  and  Adams',  this  Buckhill  Fall  is  one 
of  the  most  successful,  in  a  small  way,  that  I  know  of. 
It  might  be  bigger  and  higher  and  have  twenty-five  cents 
worth  more  water  coming  over  it  out  of  a  dam  ;  but  for 
a  mere  casual  Fall  gotten  up  inadvertently  by  nature,  it 
is  very  good,  in  an  amateurish  sort  of  away,  you  know! 

''  There  is,  I  believe  (hang  it,  there  always  is  !)  a  ro- 


WINTER  ANGLING,  283 

mantic  legend  connected  with — but  stay  ! — you  already 
guess  it.  Big  Buck  Indian — years  ago — in  love  with 
mother-in-law — commits  suicide  —  jumps  over  the 
ledge — ever  since  on  moonlight  nights,  water  the  color 
of  blood  (probably  tannery  just  above  the  Fall),  Buck 
Kill,  now  corrupted  into  Buckhill.  In  the  march  of 
civilization  the  last  impedimenta  to  be  left  by  the  way- 
side are  the  beautiful  superstitions  of  ignorance. 

**  I  am  now  quite  alone  here.  A  young  music  composer, 
hitherto  my  companion,  left  yesterday,  so  I  am  hand- 
cuffed to  nature  in  solitary  confinement. 

"  By  the  way,  my  composer  was  a  voluntary  exile  from 
the  domestic  arena.  He  had  but  recently  married — to 
formulate  it  by  proportions — say  about  a  ton  of  mother- 
in-law  to  about  an  ounce  of  wife,  and  when  the  contest 
waxed  fiercer  than  became  the  endurance  of  a  sensitive 
nature,  he  packed  his  bag  and  came  a-fishing.  He  was 
a  capital  angler — a  phenomenal  musician  and  had  an 
appetite  and  digestion  like  one  or  more  of  the  valiant 
trencher  men  of  England's  merrie  days,  so  he  solaced 
his  grief  with  Sonatas  and  buckwheat  cakes  in  the 
mornings  and  tears  and  ginger-bread  in  the  evenings. 
He  was  a  born  genius  and  as  beautiful  as  a  dream,  so  I 
advised  him  to  go  home,  choke  his  m-in-1,  kiss  his 
wife  and  live .  happily  all  the  days  of  his  life.  I  think 
he  has  gone  to  try  the  plan. 

^^  Speaking  of  buckwheat  cakes,  you  can  go  out  here 
most  any  time  and  catch  a  nice  mess  running  about  a 
half  a  pound  and  game  all  the  way  through.    No  !  No  ! 


284  FmHINO  WITH  THE  FLY. 

I'm  thinking  of  the  trout !  I  mean  they  are  light  as  a 
feather,  and  taste  to  me  just  as  did  those  I  never  had 
half  enough  of  when  I  was  a  lad  with  my  good  old 
Presbyterian  grandmother,  who  would  not  ^  set '  the 
batter  on  Saturday  night  lest  it  should  '  work '  on  the 
Sabbath. 

"Just  here  I  wish  to  record  an  event  which  has  hap- 
pened to  me  while  yet  each  detail  is  fresh  in  my  mem- 
ory. 

^'  The  day  had  been  showery,  yet  the  fishing  had  been 
very  poor,  so  I  went  at  sunset  to  try  my  luck  in  the 
stream  near  the  house,  where  are  some  fair  pools  and  a 
semi-occasional  trout. 

"The  darkness  had  begun  to  gather,  indeed  it  was  so 
dark  that  I  knew  only  by  the  instinct  of  habit  where 
my  flies  fell  upon  the  water,  for  I  could  not  fairly  see 
them.  I  had  just  made  a  cast  across  a  little  rock  which 
protruded  somewhat  above  the  surface  into  a  small  pool 
behind,  and  was  slowly  drawing  my  line  toward  me, 
when  I  perceived  a  frog  seated  upon  the  rock,  watching 
the  proceedings  with  some  apparent  anxiety.  Hardly 
had  I  made  out  his  frogship  in  the  gloaming,  when 
pop  !  he  went  into  the  water.  '  Kerchung  ! '  At  this 
instant  I  felt  a  strike  and  returned  the  compliment 
sharply,  so  as  to  set  my  hook  well  in  and  make  sure  of 
my  trout.  He  was  very  game,  and  I  was  obliged  to  play 
him  with  a  five  and  a  half  ounce  rod  for  some  time,  but 
finally  landed  him  in  good  form,  only  to  discover  that 
instead  of  a  trout  I  had  taken  froggy  on  a  black  hackle 


WINTER  ANGLING.  285 

fly,  setting  the  hook  firmly  into  the  thin  membrane 
which  connects  the  two  hind  legs  and  just  where  the 
tail  ought  to  be.  This  left  him  the  fullest  freedom  of 
action  and  gave  him  so  good  a  chance  to  fight  me  that 
I  never  suspected  him  of  being  anything  less  than  a 
half-pounder.  He  must  have  jumped  from  the  rock 
directly  on  to  the  fly  trailing  behind  it  and  been  thus 
hooked  by  my  'strike.'  Mem. — This  story  is  true  as 
gospel,  but  better  not  tell  it  where  you  enjoy  an  excep- 
tional reputation  for  veracity. 

^^  July  10th,  *  *  *  Nothing  has  happened!  Nothing 
ever  does  happen  here.  Delightful  existence,  free  from 
events  !  I  remember  hearing  Homer  Martin  once  say  that 
it  was  the  height  of  his  artistic  ambition  to  paint  a  picture 
without  objects.  The  confounded  objects,  he  said,  al- 
ways would  get  wrong  and  destroy  his  best  effects.  How 
far  this  was  intended  to  be  a  humorous  paradox  and  how 
far  the  suggestion  of  an  artistic  ideal,  I  know  not,  but 
I  surely  somewhere  have  seen  a  painting — from  whose 
brush  I  cannot  say — which  quite  nearly  fulfilled  this 
strange  condition.  It  represented  an  horizon,  where 
met  a  cloudless,  moonless,  starless  summer  sky  and  a 
waveless,  almost  motionless  sea — these  and  an  atmos- 
phere. The  effect  was  that  one  could  hardly  perceive 
where  the  sea  ceased  and  the  sky  began.  I  wonder  if 
it  wonld  not  be  thus  with  a  life  quite  devoid  of  events 
— would  one  be  able  to  distinguish  such  fromi  Heaven  ? 

"  The  charm  of  it  is  that  it  leaves  both  the  physical 
and  intellectual  in  one  to  develop  freely.    When  a  cow. 


286  FISHING  WITH  THE  FLY, 

grazing  in  a  woodland  pasture,  comes  at  noonday  to  the 
brook  to  drink  and  then  calmly  and  not  without  a  cer- 
tain ungainly  majesty  of  movement,  crosses  the  deep 
pool  and  climbs  the  steep  bank  on  the  other  side,  by  no 
apparent  motive  urged  save  of  her  own  sweet  will,  she 
always  looks  refreshed  and  filled  in  some  sort  with  the 
stolid  bovine  expression  of  great  contentment.  Mark 
how  different  it  all  is  when  the  same  cow  crosses  the 
same  brook  driven  by  the  barefooted  urchin  with  a  gad 
and  shrill  cries  and  a  possible  small  dog  in  the  back- 
ground. How  wearily  and  breathlessly  she  wades,  and 
with  what  distressful  pantings  she  climbs,  and  how  un- 
happy and  enduring  and  long-suffering  she  appears,  as 
you  watch  her  shuffle  away  down  the  cow-path  home- 
ward !  It's  the  Must  that  hurts.  It's  the  barefooted 
urchin  Necessity  with  his  infernal  gad  Ambition  and  his 
ugly  little  cur  dog  Want,  always  chasing  and  shouting 
after  one,  that  makes  it  so  tiresome  to  cross  the  stream. 

"  Then,  too,  as  to  the  mind.  Shall  not  one  gain  better 
intellectual  growth  when  beyond  the  reach  of  the  im- 
perial ukase  of  daily  custom  which  fixes  the  mind  upon 
and  chains  the  tongue  to  some  leading  event  of  the 
passing  hour  ? 

"In  swift  and  endless  succession  come  foul  murders, 
robberies,  revolutions,  sickening  disasters,  nameless 
crimes,  and  all  the  long  list  of  events,  and  ar^  as  so 
many  manacles  upon  the  mind. 

**  I  hate  Events.  They  bore  me.  All  except  taking 
a  pound  trout. 


WINTER  ANGLING.  287 

•'*  Alas  !  what  a  rent  these  last  words  make  in  the  bal- 
loon I  have  been  inflating !  Logic  (another  troublesome 
nuisance,  evolved,  probably,  at  Hunter's  Point)  forces 
me  from  the  clouds  to  earth  and  insists  that  I  shall 
accept  a  trite  aphorism :  *  Little  events  fill  little  minds  ; 
great  events  for  big  ones.' 

"  Then  if  I  take  refuge  in  the  cowardly  device  of  say- 
ing I  don't  want  a  big  mind,  what  becomes  of  my  theory 
of  intellectual  development  as  the  outgrowth  of  an 
eventless  life ! 

"I  decline  to  follow  out  more  in  detail  this  or  any 
other  line  of  argument.  One  can't  argue  in  the  face  of 
such  an  event  as  the  thermometer  in  the  nineties  away 
up  here  in  the  mountains. 

"  This  chance  allusion  to  logic  reminds  me  that  I  have 
recently  heard  from  a  dear  old  angling  friend.  He 
writes  incidentally  that  since  his  return  to  his  active  pro- 
fessional duties  he  has  made  money  enough  to  pay 
many  times  over  the  expenses  of  his  recent  two  weeks' 
fishing  bout  with  me.  I  have  written  him  that  he 
might  find  it  well  to  start  at  once  upon  another  trip. 
I  have  no  doubt  there  exists  a  certain  correlation  of 
forces  whereby  a  week's  fishing,  with  its  resultant  in- 
crease of  oxygenation,  and  rebuilding  of  gray  tissue, 
accurately  represents  a  certain  amount  of  possible  mental 
labor  and  thus,  indirectly,  a  fixed  sum  of  money. 

"It  is  then  alarming  to  think  how  abnormally  rich  a 
man  might  become  if  he  fished  all  the  time." 

If  I  have  thus  quoted  somewhat  at  length  vaporings 


288  FISHING  WITH  THE 'FLT, 

of  other  days  from  my  note  book  it  has  been  only  to 
suggest  to  others,  whose  angling  experiences  are  and 
have  been  wider  and  more  yaried  than  my  own,  how 
readily  they  can  organize  a  "preserve"  for  winter 
angling.  Believe  me,  no  event,  no  feeling,  no  passing 
observation  of  your  surroundings  can  be  too  trivial  to 
record,  and  each  written  line  will,  in  years  to  come, 
suggest  a  page  of  pleasant  memories  when  as  "Ness- 
muk  "  says — 

"  The  Winter  streams  are  frozen 
And  the  Nor'west  winds  are  out." 


¥ 


B  A  S  S      FLjIE  S 


Made  by  C.F.ORVIS.  Manchester. Vt. 


CO  PYR  lO  H  TED 


"Mr.  Webster's  sport  of  angling  has  gjven  him  many  opportu- 
nities for  composition,  his  famous  address  on  Bunker  Hill  having 
been  mostly  planned  out  on  Marshpee  Brook  ;  and  it  is  said  that 
the  following  exclamation  was  first  heard  by  a  couple  of  huge 
trout  immediately  on  their  being  transferred  to  his  fishing-basket, 
as  it  subsequently  was  heard  at  Bunker  Hill  by  many  thousands 
of  his  fellow-citizens  :  *  Venerable  men  !  you  have  come  down  to 
us  from  a  former  generation.  Heaven  has  bounteously  lengthened 
out  your  lives  that  you  might  behold  this  joyous  day.'" — Lan- 
man's  Life  of  Webster. 

"  Now,  I  love  fishing  dearly.  There  is  no  sport  like  it  for  me. 
but  there  is  a  vast  deal  in  fishing  besides  catching  fish.*' — H,  H, 
Thompson. 


13.  The  Triumph.  14.  Alexandra. 

15.  Seth  Green.  16.  Jungle  Cock. 

17.  Fitz-Maurice.  18.  Caddis. 

19.  Davis. 


"When  fish  are  basking  during  the  mid-day  hours  in  the  hot 
summer  months,  they  are  not  always  to  be  drawn  to  the  surface. 
But  the  combination  more  suitable  for  this  method  is  the  dressing 
known  as  the  '  Alexandra  Fly.' " — Da/vid  Foster. 

**  The  exertion  of  crossing  the  Atlantic  for  fly-fishing  will  be 
amply  repaid  the  sportsman  by  the  quantity  and  weight  of  the 
fish  he  will  capture  ;  for  there  the  fish  are  not  troubled  with  the 
fastidiousness  of  appetite  which  in  Great  Britain  causes  it  always 
to  be  a  source  of  doubt  whether  the  water  is  in  proper  order,  the 
wind  in  the  east,  or  thunder  overhead,  either  of  which,  or  all 
combined,  too  frequently  cause  the  most  industrious  to  return, 
after  a  long  and  laborious  day,  with  an  empty  basket."— Parser 
Gilm,ore. 


**0f  all  places,  commend  me,  in  the  still  of  the  evening,  to  the 
long  placid  pool,  shallow  on  one  side,  with  deeper  water  and  an 
abrupt  overhanging  bank  opposite.  Where  the  sun  has  shone  all 
day,  and  legions  of  ephemera  sported  in  its  declining  rays  ;  the 
bloom  of  the  rye  or  clover  scenting  the  air  from  the  adjoining 
field  I  Now  light  a  fresh  pipe,  and  put  on  a  pale  Ginger  Hackle 
for  your  tail-fly,  and  a  little  white-winged  Coachman  for  your 
dropper.  Then  wade  in  cautiously—  move  like  a  shadow — don't 
make  a  ripple.  Cast,  slowly,  long,  light ;  let  your  stretcher  sink 
a  little.  There,  he  has  taken  the  Ginger — lead  him  around  gently 
to  the  shallow  side  as  you  reel  him  in,  but  don't  move  from  your 
position— let  him  tug  awhile,  put  your  net  under  him,  break  his 
neck,  and  slip  him  into  your  creel.  Draw  your  line  through  the 
rings — cast  again  ;  another  and  another — keep  on  until  you  can 
see  only  the  ripple  made  by  your  fly  ;  or  know  when  it  falls,  by 
the  slight  tremor  it  imparts  through  the  whole  line  down  to  your 
hand — until  the  whip-poor-will  begins  his  evening  song,  and  the 
little  water-frog  tweets  in  the  grass  close  by  ;  —not  till  then  is  it 
time  to  go  home." — Thaddeus  Norris. 

"You  may  always  know  a  large  trout  when  feeding  in  the 
evening.  He  rises  continuously,  or  at  small  intervals — in  a  still 
water  almost  always  in  the  same  place,  and  makes  little  noise — 
barely  elevating  his  mouth  to  suck  in  the  fly,  and  sometimes 
showing  his  back-fin  and  tail.  A  large  circle  spreads  around 
him,  but  there  are  seldom  any  bubbles  when  he  breaks  the  water, 
which  usually  indicates  the  coarser  fish." — Sir  Humphry  Davy. 

"  It  is  not  difficult  to  learn  how  to  cast ;  but  it  is  difficult  to 
learn  not  to  snap  the  flies  off  at  every  throw." — Charles  Dudley 
Warner. 

*'  I  esteem  the  color  of  the  fly's  body  of  far  greater  importance 
than  that  of  the  wings." — Hewett  WJisaUey. 


NOT  ALL  OF  FISHIISTG  TO  FISH. 

BY 
A.  NELSON  CHENEY. 


"  We  cast  our  flies  on  many  waters,  where  memories  and  fan- 
cies  and  facts  rise,  and  we  take  them  and  show  them  to  each 
other,  and,  small  or  large,  we  are  content  with  our  catch." — W. 
C.  Prime. 

The  commonly  accepted  definition  of  fly-fishing  is 
the  casting — with  a  light,  strong,  elastic,  pliant  rod — 
of  two,  three  or  four  artificial  flies,  on  a  delicate  leader 
attached  to  a  fine  tapered  silk  line,  over  the  surface  of 
waters  inhabited  by  the  lordly,  silver-coated  salmon ; 
that  aristocratic  beauty,  the  speckled  trout,  or  the 
more  sombre-colored  but  gamy  black  bass. 

This,  in  truth,  is  called  the  acme  of  fishing,  the 
highest  degree  attainable  in  the  school  of  the  angler. 
But  of  what  a  small  portion,  comparatively,  of  the 
pleasure  of  angling  does  the  mere  casting  of  the  fly, 
however  artistic,  and  the  creeling  of  the  fish,  however 
large,  consist. 

If  it  were  all  of  fishing  to  fish  ;  if  fish  were  only  to 
be  obtained  in  pools  in  a  desert  waste  that  never  re- 
flected leaf  or  twig ;  from  walled-in  reservoirs,  where 
fish  are  fattened  like  a  bullock  for  the  shambles ;  from 


292  FISHING  WITH  THE  FLT. 

sluggish,  muddy  streams  within  the  hearing  of  great 
towns,  redolent  of  odors  that  are  bred  and  disseminated 
where  humanity  is  massed  between  walls  of  brick  and 
mortar,  or  even  from  a  perfect  fish  preserve,  where 
everything  is  artificial  except  the  water ;  or  if  the  be- 
ginning of  fishing  was  making  the  first  cast  and  the 
end  the  creeling  of  the  last  fish,  would  the  gentle  art 
under  such  conditions  have  been  a  theme  for  the  poet's 
pen,  a  subject  for  the  artist's  brush,  or  a  topic  for  the 
interesting  story  during  the  centuries  that  have  passed 
since  the  first  line  was  written,  or  the  first  words  sung  ? 
/  think  not. 

Fishing  for  the  fish  alone  would  not  have  inspired 
Dame  Juliana  Berners,  Izaak  Walton,  Charles  Cotton, 
Sir  Humphry  Davy,  John  Bunyan,  Sir  Walter  Scott, 
"  Christopher  North,"  and  other  and  more  modern 
writers  to  tell  of  the  peace,  the  quiet,  the  health  and  the 
pleasure  to  be  gained  in  the  pursuit  of  this  pastime. 

The  skill  exercised  and  the  delicate  tackle  used  by  a 
past  master  of  the  art  would  have  been  unnecessary  to 
cultivate  or  fashion,  solely  to  supply  the  brain  with 
food  through  the  alimentary  canal. 

An  angler's  brain  is  fed  by  absorption  as  well  as  by 
assimilation. 

There  might  be  reason  in  calling  a  fisherman  with 
an  eye  simply  to  the  catching  of  fish,  a  ^^over  of  cruel 
sport,"  but  the  cruelty  would  be  of  the  same  kind,  but 
in  a  less  degree,  as  that  displayed  by  the  butcher  who 
supplies  our  tables  with  beef  and  mutton. 


NOT  ALL  OF  FISHING  TO  FISH.  293 

To  an  angler  the  pleasures  of  the  rod  and  reel  are 
far-reaching  and  have  no  boundary  save  when  the  mind 
ceases  to  anticipate  and  the  brain  to  remember.  I  have 
had  the  grandest  sport  on  a  midwinter's  night  with  the 
snow  piled  high  outside  and  the  north  wind  roaring 
down  the  chimney,  while  I  sat  with  my  feet  to  the  blaze 
on  the  hearth,  holding  in  my  hand  an  old  fly-book. 
The  smoke  from  my  lighted  pipe,  aided  by  imagina- 
tion, contained  rod,  fish,  creel,  odorous  balsam,  droop- 
ing hemlock  and  purling  brook  or  ruffled  lake.  I 
seemed  to  hear  the  twittering  birds,  leaves  rustled  by  the 
wind  and  the  music  of  running  water,  while  the  incense 
of  wild  flowers  saluted  my  nostrils.  The  heat  of  the 
fire  was  but  the  warm  rays  of  the  sun  and  the  crackle 
of  the  burning  wood  the  noise  of  the  forest.  Thus 
streams  that  I  have  fished  once  or  twice  have  been 
fished  a  score  of  times. 

I  had  nothing  to  show  for  the  later  fishings,  but  I 
could  feel  that  God  was  good  and  my  memory  unim- 
paired. The  fish  in  the  pipe-smoke  has  b^en  as  active 
as  was  the  fish  in  the  water,  and  afforded  as  fine  play. 
My  reel  has  clicked  as  merrily  in  the  half -dream  as  on 
the  rod  in  the  long  ago,  and  my  rod  has  bent  to  the 
play  of  the  fish  as  though  it  were  in  my  hand  instead 
of  lying  flat  on  a  shelf  in  a  cool  room  up-stairs.  I 
have  had  in  my  musings  all  the  pleasure  of  actual  fish- 
ing, everything  but  the  fish  in  the  flesh. 

When  Winter  comes  and  the  ravages  in  tackle  have 
been  repaired  and  all  is  in  perfect  order  for  another 


294  FISEINO  WITH  THE  FLY. 

season,  I  put  my  rods  where  they  will  not  be  injured  by 
the  modern  furnace  heat,  each  joint  of  each  rod  placed 
flat  on  a  shelf.  But  the  tackle  trunk,  securely  locked 
that  no  vandal  hand  may  get  to  its  treasures,  is  where 
my  eye  rests  upon  it  daily,  and  my  fly  books  are  in  one 
of  the  drawers  of  my  writing  desk  where  I  can  easily 
reach  them.  When  I  take  one  of  the  books  out  of  an 
eyening,  or  at  any  time  during  my  waking  hours  in 
early  winter,  I  generally  seek  out  some  tattered  fly  that 
is  wrapped  carefully  in  a  paper  and  placed  in  one  of  its 
pockets.  The  book  may  be  full  of  flies,  sombre  or 
gorgeous  in  all  the  freshness  of  untried  silk,  mohair, 
feathers  and  tinsel ;  but  take  for  instance  this  one  with 
the  legend  written  on  its  wrapper  : 

^^  Puffer  Pond,  June,  1867.— Thirty-five  pounds  of 
trout  in  two  hours.  The  last  of  the  gentlemen  that  did 
the  deed." 

This,  to  me,  tells  the  story  of  a  very  pleasant  week, 
spent  in  the  Adirondacks.  I  remember,  as  I  hold  the 
ragged,  faded  fly  in  my  hand  and  see  that  it  still  retains 
something  of  the  dark  blue  of  its  mohair  body  and  the 
sheen  of  its  cock-feather  wings,  that  it  was  one  of  six 
flies  that  I  had  in  my  fly-book  that  June  day  that 
stands  out  from  other  June  days,  in  my  memory,  like  a 
Titan  amongst  pygmies.  The  fly  had  no  name,  but  the 
trout  liked  it  for  all  that,  and  rose  to  it  with  as  much 
avidity  as  though  they  had  been  properly  introduced  to 
some  real  bug  of  which  this  was  an  excellent  counterfeit. 

That  glorious  two  hours'  time — with  its  excitement  of 


NOT  ALL  OF  FISHING  TO  FISH.  295 

catching  and  landing  without  a  net  some  of  the  most 
beautiful  and  gamy  fish  that  ever  moved  fin — comes 
back  to  me  as  vi\idly  as  though  at  this  moment  the 
four  walls  of  my  room  were  the  forest-circled  shores  of 
that  far-away  pond,  and  I  stand  in  that  leaky  boat, 
almost  ankle  deep  in  the  water  that  Frank,  the  guide, 
has  no  time  to  bail,  occupied  as  he  is  in  watching  my 
casts  and  admiring  my  whip-like  rod  during  the  play 
of  a  fish,  or  fishes,  and  in  turning  the  boat's  gunwale 
to  the  water's  edge  to  let  my  trout  in  when  they  are  ex- 
hausted. It  is  sharp,  quick  -v^ork,  and  the  blue-bodied 
fly  is  always  first  of  all  the  flies  composing  the  cast  to 
get  a  rise,  until  I  take  off  all  but  the  one  kind,  and 
then  one  after  another  I  see  them  torn,  mutilated  and 
destroyed.  Later  they  will  be  put  away  as  warriors  gone 
to  rest  and  the  epitaph  written  on  their  wrappings  : 
*'  Thy  work  was  well  done  ;  thy  rest  well  earned." 
Now  there  is  no  time  to  mantle  the  fallen  or  sing 
paeans  to  the  victors ;  the  action  is  at  its  height.  I  put 
my  last  blue  fly  on  my  leader  and  cast  it  again  and 
again  with  success,  before  those  dark  open  jaws,  that 
come  out  of  the  water  every  time  it  falls  on  the  surface, 
have  destroyed  its  beauty  forever.  Frank  says  the  time 
is  up  and  we  must  go. 

The  boat,  propelled  with  broken  oars,  is  headed  for 
the  landing-place,  and  I  sit  back  in  the  stem  admiring 
those  sleek  beauties  that  lie  in  the  bottom,  and  that  have 
fought  so  well  and  so  vainly.  My  rod  is  inclined  over 
my  shoulder  and  the  blue  fly  is  trailing  on  the  water 


296  FISIimO  WITH  THE  FLY. 

astern.  Suddenly  I  feel  a  twitch  and  hear  a  splash, 
and  turning  around  find  I  am  fast  to  a  fish,  the  noblest 
Roman  of  that  day's  struggle.  Once,  twice,  thrice  he 
shows  himself  in  all  his  fair  proportions. 

"  Two  pounds  and  a  half,  if  an  ounce,"  says  Frank. 

I  get  down  on  my  knees  in  the  water  of  the  cranky 
boat,  as  the  reel  sings  the  merriest  tune  that  ever 
delighted  the  ear  of  an  angler.  Two  or  three  mad 
dashes,  and  I  think  the  trout  is  tiring.  I  reel  him 
slowly  in,  but  the  sight  of  the  boat  gives  him  new  life 
and  he  darts  under  it  iji  spite  of  my  efforts  to  swing 
him  around  the  stern.  The  rod  tip  is  passed  clear  of 
the  boat  and  the  fight  continues. 

Exhausted  ?    The  fight  is  only  begun. 

The  unwieldy  boat  is  far  too  slow  to  follow  the  fish, 
and  I  see  my  line  growing  rapidly  less  on  my  reel  with 
no  sign  of  weakness  on  the  part  of  the  fish.  I  am  com- 
pelled to  advance  the  butt  of  the  rod  and  the  tip  droops 
nearer  and,  hesitatingly,  still  nearer  to  it,  as  though 
the  tip  would  whisper ingly  confess  that  the  strain  is 
greater  than  it  can  bear,  while  the  stout  nature  of  the 
wood  rebels  at  the  confession.  Involuntarily  I  raise 
myself  by  a  muscular  action  as  though  the  cords  and 
sinews  of  my  body  could  relieve  the  pressure  on  the 
lancewood  and  save  the  rod. 

''  You'll  smash  your  pole  ! "  is  the  warning  Frank 
utters. 

I  care  not  now,  for  the  fight  has  been  a  glorious  one, 
but  the  "pole"  survives  to  fight  many  another  fight ; 


NOT  ALL  OF  FI8HIN0  TO  FISH.  297 

the  trout  is  turned  and,  at  last  comes,  side  up,  to  the 
boat,  vanquished  but  not  subdued. 

Here,  in  another  paper,  are  three  flies  fastened  to- 
gether. A  Chicken  Red  Palmer  Hackle,  a  Grizzly  King 
and  a  fly  with  black  body,  brown  wings,  red  tail  and 
tip.  They  are  large  trout  flies  and  won  honorable 
retirement  by  catching  three  small-mouthed  black  bass 
at  one  and  the  same  time.  Fishing  from  a  boat  in  the 
Hudson  River,  above  a  long  rough  rapid,  I  cast  inshore 
and  saw  the  stretcher  fly  taken  by  a  small  bass;  im- 
mediately after  the  two  droppers  were  taken  by  other 
bass  that  did  not  show  themselves  when  taking  the  lures. 
My  rod  was  the  same  that  I  have  already  mentioned,  an 
ash  and  lance  wood  of  eight  ounces — scale  weight — and 
my  entire  attention  was  directed  to  it  and  the  fish,  that 
were  bending  it  like  a  willow  wand;  when,  suddenly,  I 
discovered  that  the  boatman  had  also  been  interested 
in  the  play  of  the  fish  and  allowed  the  boat  to  drift 
into  the  swift  water  at  the  head  of  the  rapids.  The 
boatman  made  an  effort  to  row  up  stream  at  the  same 
time  the  fish  decided  to  go  down,  and  I  found  I  must 
either  smash  my  tackle  and  lose  the  fish — at  this  time 
I  had  seen  but  the  one  bass  that  took  the  stretcher 
fly — or  run  the  rapids  at  the  risk  of  an  upset.  I  was 
very  anxious  to  see  the  size  of  the  fish  that  were  strug- 
gling on  my  leader  in  that  swift  running  water,  and 
every  angler  will  know  the  decision  that  was  instantly 
made,  to  ''  shoot  the  rapids." 

The  sight  of  these  old  tinseled  lures  brings  back  to 


298  FlSIimO  WITH  THE  FLY. 

me  the  wild  excitement  of  that  driying,  whirling  ride 
through  the  racing,  seething  waters.  Hatless  I  crouch 
down  in  the  boat,  one  hand  clutching  the  gunwale  of 
the  broad  river  craft,  and  the  other  holding  aloft  my 
rod.  I  give  no  thought  to  the  possible  fate  of  the 
occupants  of  the  boat.  My  anxiety  is  for  the  fish. 
When  the  curved  line  is  straight  again,  will  I  feel  the 
bass  at  the  end  or  only  the  bare  flies  ?  These  very  flies  ! 

Very  soon  the  boat  is  rocking  in  the  lumpy  water  at 
the  foot  of  the  chute,  and  I  stand  up,  fill  my  lungs,  and 
find  my  fish  are  still  fast.  Here  in  the  broad  water  I 
bring  to  net  three  small-mouthed  bass  that  together 
weigh  four  and  one-quarter  pounds,  only  one  of  which, 
at  any  time,  showed  himself  above  water.  As  I  put 
the  faded  flies  back  into  their  paper  coverings  I  find 
that  my  pulse  has  quickened  and  my  pipe  no  longer  burns. 

I  must  not  exhibit  all  my  treasures  here,  to  the 
public.  These  old  souvenirs  are  only  for  the  eyes  of 
sympathizing  angling  friends  when  me  meet  to  blow  a 
cloud  and  talk  of  other  days. 

A  little  brown-eyed  maiden  once,  looking  into  my  fly- 
book,  asked  why  I  had  the  old  frayed  flies  tied  up  in 
separate  papers  and  marked,  while  the  nice  new  flies 
did  not  show  this  care.  Had  she  been  of  maturer  years 
I  might  have  quoted  Alonzo  of  Aragon's  commendation 
of  old  friends,  but  instead,  I  merely  said  : 

"  The  nice  new  flies  I  can  easily  buy,  but  no  one  sells 
such  old  flies,  therefore  I  take  the  greater  care  of  them 
because  of  their  rarity." 


NOT  ALL  OF  FLSHING  TO  FISH.  299 

The  new  flies  will  not  be  slighted,  for  they,  also,  have 
their  season  of  admiration  and  caressing  touch.  When 
their  day  has  come  the  old  veterans  of  many  a  fight 
will  not  be  forgotten  either,  but  while  maturing  plans 
for  augmenting  their  numbers,  the  recruits  in  their 
new,  bright  dress  will  be  inspected  to  see  what  claims 
they  may  have  for  future  honors. 

The  lengthening  days  and  diminishing  snowbanks 
naturally  turn  the  angler's  thoughts  forward,  and  he 
sniffs  the  south  wind  as  though  he  would  discover  some 
slight  remaining  odor  of  fragrant  apple  blossoms  borne 
to  him  from  the  far  southland  as  the  forerunner  of 
warm  air,  blue  sky,  bursting  buds,  open  streams,  green 
grass,  ** gentle  spring,"  and  time  to  go  a-fishing.  Then 
the  untried  flies  are  examined  and  speculation  is  rife  as 
to  their  excellence,  each  for  its  own  particular  kind  of 
fish. 

Day  dreams  and  evening  musings  give  place  to  an 
activity  of  mind  and  body  when  fishing  is  under  con- 
sideration. The  lessons  of  the  last  season  and  other 
seasons  are  brought  to  bear  to  perfect  all  arrangements 
for  a  fresh  campaign.  Consultations  with  brother  anglers 
are  frequent,  and  plans  many  and  various  are  weighed 
and  discussed.  The  tackle  box  is  overhauled  again  and 
again,  notwithstanding  the  attention  paid  to  it  at  the 
close  of  the  last  season,  to  be  sure  that  nothing  is 
wanting  or  left  undone.  Lines  are  tested  ;  leaders  are 
subjected  to  the  closest  scrutiny  to  see  that  no  flaws  or 
chafed  places  exist  to  give  way  at  a  critical  moment 


300  FISHING  WITH  THE  FLY, 

during  some  future  contest,  when  a  trifle  will  turn  the 
scales ;  reels  are  taken  apart  and  carefully  oiled ;  rods 
sent  to  the  maker  for  a  new  coat  of  yarnish,  and,  per- 
haps, a  few  new  whippings  for  the  guide  rings  ;  fishing 
shoes,  although  they  have  a  row  of  holes  just  above 
the  soles,  get  an  extra  dressing  of  oil  to  keep  the 
leather  soft ;  and  an  inventory  of  the  wardrobe  is  taken 
and  old  garments  are  selected  that  appear  for  the  time, 
considering  the  use  they  are  to  serve,  far  more  faultless 
than  when  first  sent  home  by  the  tailor.  "About 
these  days"  your  business  letters,  if  written  to  people 
into  whose  souls  the  love  of  angling  has  entered,  may 
terminate  as  follows  : 

"P.  8. — What  are  the  prospects  for  the  spring  fish- 
ing in  your  neighborhood  ?  Did  the  late  freshets  of 
last  fall  destroy  the  trout  eggs  deposited  in  the  streams 
about  you?"  or,  "Did  the  unusual  severity  of  the 
winter  cause  destruction  to  the  trout  spawn"  in  the 
headwaters  of  your  brooks  ? " 

Some  evening  when  the  "  fever  is  on  "  you  will  write 
to  a  guide  up  in  the  North  Woods,  some  honest,  faith- 
ful fellow  that  you  have  known  in  all  weathers  for 
many  seasons  : 

"  Be  sure  and  take  a  boat  over  to  Mahogany  Pond, 
(that  is  not  the  name  of  it,  for  its  title  is  taken  from  a 
domestic  wood  that  grows  on  its  shores),  before  the 
snow  goes  off  and  keep  me  informed  as  to  the  condition 
of  things,  for  I  wish  to  start  and  be  with  you  as  soon  as 
the  water  is  free  from  ice.     I  shall  bring  a  friend  with 


NOT  ALL  OF  FISHING  TO  FISH  301 

me,  the  gentleman  I  told  you  about  last  summer,  who 
knows  the  name  of  every  plant  that  grows  in  the  woods, 
as  well  as  the  name  of  every  fish  that  swims  in  the 
water.     The  old  camp,  with  a  few  repairs,  will  answer, 

as  Mr.  is  an  old  woodsman  and  angler  of  the  first 

order,  and  requires  no  more  than  the  few  simples  that 
you  usually  take  to  camp.  He,  like  myself,  goes  into 
the  woods  to  fish  and  fill  his  lungs  with  the  pure  moun- 
tain air  that  you  live  in." 

When  Dick  reads  the  letter  he  smiles,  for  it  contains 
nothing  unknown  to  him  before.  It  is  his  own  idea  to 
caiTy  a  boat  to  the  pond  on  the  snow,  for  there  is  no 
road,  path  or  trail,  but  he  only  says  to  himself  : 

*'He's  got  it  just  as  bad  this  spring  as  ever.  The 
medicine  will  be  ready  for  him." 

The  angler  does  all  this  and  more ;  mind,  I  say  the 
angler,  for  the  other  fellow  that  goes  a-fishing  because 
it  is  the  thing  to  do,  or  because  he  has  heard  some  one 
dilate  upon  the  pleasure  to  be  found  in  practising  the 
art,  will  do  nothing  of  the  sort.  It  is  too  much  trouble, 
or,  more  likely,  these  things  never  occur  to  him. 

Now  the  man  of  severe  aspect  who,  if  he  smiles, 
looks  as  though  he  wore  a  petrified  smile  that  he  had 
bought  at  a  bargain,  and  whose  sole  ambition  and 
pleasure  is  to  make  money,  live  as  long  as  he  can  in  doing 
so,  and  die  as  rich  as  possible ;  this  man,  if  he  could 
know,  and  comprehend,  what  is  passing  through  the 
angler's  mind  at  this  season,  would  say  such  vagabonds 
are  the  cumberers   of  the  earth ;  but  he  could  not 


302  FISHING  WITH  THE  FLY, 

find  a  '^  cumberer  "  in  all  tlie  land  who  would  change 
places  with  him,  take  his  joyless  life,  sapless  heart, 
frozen  visage,  narrow  yiews  and  great  wealth,  and  giye 
in  return  the  angler's  light  heart,  happy  disposition, 
love  of  God,  his  fellow-man  and  Nature  \  his  re- 
sources within  himself,  engendered  by  his  fondness  for 
the  wild  woods,  to  enjoy  the  past  and  anticipate  the 
future,  whatever  betide ;  his  desire  to  see  good  in  every 
thing,  his  clear  conscience  and  his  fishing  tackle. 

Bear  in  mind  that  the  pleasure  of  angling  is  not 
alone  the  consummation  of  your  hopes  for  a  large 
score.  Hear  what  Sir  Humphrey  Davy  says  on  this 
subject: 

'^From  the  savage  in  his  rudest  and  most  primitive 
state,  who  destroys  a  piece  of  game,  or  a  fish,  with  a  club 
or  spear,  to  man  in  the  most  cultivated  state  of  society, 
who  employs  artifice,  machinery,  and  the  resources  of 
various  other  animals,  to  secure  his  object,  the  origin 
of  the  pleasure  is  similar,  and  its  object  the  same:  but 
that  kind  of  it  requiring  most  art  may  be  said  to 
characterize  man  in  his  highest  or  intellectual  state; 
and  the  fisher  for  salmon  and  trout  with  the  fly 
employs  not  only  machinery  to  assist  his  physical 
powers,  but  applies  sagacity  to  conquer  difficulties; 
and  the  pleasure  derived  from  ingenious  resources  and 
devices,  as  well  as  from  active  pursuits,  belongs  to  this 
amusement.  Then,  as  to  its  philosophical  tendency, 
it  is  a  pursuit  of  moral  discipline,  requiring  patience, 
forbearance,  and  command  of  temper. 


NOT  ALL  OF  FISHING  TO  FISH.  303 

"As  connected  with  natural  science,  it  may  be 
vaunted  as  demanding  a  knowledge  of  the  habits  of  a 
considerable  tribe  of  created  beings  —  fishes,  and  the 
animals  that  they  prey  upon,  and  an  acquaintance  with 
the  signs  and  tokens  of  the  weather,  and  its  changes, 
the  nature  of  waters,  and  of  the  atmosphere.  As  to  its 
poetical  relations,  it  carries  us  into  the  most  wild  and 
beautiful  scenery  of  nature,  amongst  the  mountain 
lakes,  and  the  clear  and  lovely  streams  that  gush  from 
the  higher  ranges  of  elevated  hills,  or  that  make  their 
way  tluough  the  cavities  of  calcareous  strata.  How 
delightful  in  the  early  spring,  after  the  dull  and 
tedious  time  of  winter,  when  the  frosts  disappear  and 
the  sunshine  warms  the  earth  and  waters,  to  wander 
forth  by  some  clear  stream,  to  see  the  leaf  bursting 
from  the  purple  bud,  to  scent  the  odors  of  the  bank 
perfumed  by  the  violet,  and  enamelled  as  it  were  with  the 
primrose  and  the  daisy  ;  to  wander  upon  the  fresh  turf 
below  the  shade  of  trees,  whose  bright  blossoms  are 
filled  with  the  music  of  the  bee  ;  and  on  the  surface  of 
the  waters  to  view  the  gaudy  flies  sparkling  like 
animated  gems  in  the  sunbeams,  whilst  the  bright  and 
beautiful  trout  is  watching  them  from  below ;  to  hear 
the  twittering  of  the  water-birds,  who,  alarmed  at  your 
approach,  rapidly  hide  themselves  beneath  the  flowers 
and  leaves  of  the  water-lily ;  and,  as  the  season 
advances,  to  find  all  these  objects  changed  for  others  of 
the  same  kind,  but  better  and  brighter,  till  the  swallow 
and  the  trout  contend  as  it  were  for  the  gaudy  May- 


304  FISHING  WITH  THE  FLY. 

fly,  and  till  in  pursuing  your  amusement  in  the  calm 
and  balmy  evening,  you  are  serenaded  by  the  songs  of 
the  cheerful  thrush  and  melodious  nightingale,  per- 
forming the  office  of  paternal  love,  in  thickets  orna- 
mented with  the  rose  and  woodbine." 

While  it  is  not  all  of  fishing  to  fish,  it  does  not  con- 
sist entirely  of  preparation,  and  ifc  must  have  something 
substantial  as  a  basis  for  the  day  dream  or  fireside 
musing.  You  must  catch  some  fish,  as  capital  stock, 
to  talk  about.  I  never  knew  an  angler  that  was  satis- 
fied to  do  all  the  listening. 

In  my  native  State  the  law  makes  it  legally  possible 
to  wet  a  hook  for  speckled  trout,  for  the  first  time  each 
year  on  April  first,  and  this  day  has  come  to  be  called 
"  Opening  Day,"  and  is  spoken  of  in  such  glowing 
language  that  one  might  think  it  the  opening  of  some 
vast  commercial  enterprise  instead  of  the  opening  of 
the  fishing  season.  As  the  result  of  an  angler's  hopes 
and  preparations,  as  I  have  tried,  imperfectly,  to  sketch 
them,  I  will  quote  from  my  fishing  diary  what  is  there 
set  down  as  one  consummation: 

''April  1st,  1878.— Opening  day.  Fished  Halfway 
brook  from  Morgan  brook  to,  and  through  the  woods  ; 
then  fished  Ogden  brook  from  Van  Husen's  road  to 
Gleason's.  Banks  more  than  full  of  roily  snow  water ; 
weather  decidedly  cold ;  strong  wind  from  the  North- 
west ;  cloudy  sky.  Caught  one  small  trout  that  I 
returned  to  his  native  element  to  grow;  discovered 
from  my  single  specimen  of  the  Salvelinus  fontinalis 


NOT  ALL  OF  FISHING  TO  FISH.  305 

that  they  have  the  same  bright  spots  that  they 
have  always  had;  look  the  same,  smell  the  same, 
feel  the  same  ;  other  peculiarities  lacking.  Warm  sun 
and  rain  required  to  develop  the  characteristics  we  so 
much  admire  in  our  leaping  friend.  Managed  to  fall 
into  the  Ogden  brook — in  fact,  went  in  without  the 
slightest  difficulty,  amid  applause  from  the  bank; 
discovered  from  my  involuntary  plunge  that  the  water 
is  just  as  wet  as  last  year,  and  if  memory  serves,  a 
trifle  colder.  Beached  home  in  the  evening,  cold,  wet, 
tired  and  hungry.  Nevertheless,  had  a  most  glorious 
time'^ 


*'  If  skilful,  as  he  ought  to  be,  the  angler  need  fix  no  quivering 
life  on  his  hook,  but  with  feather  and  silk  and  downy  dubbing, 
he  makes  a  bait  far  more  winning,  that  drops  upon  the  curling 
water,  or  plays  among  the  whirlpools,  as  though  it  were  born  for 
the  frolic."— a  W.  Bethwne,  D.D. 

"  The  subject-matter  of  angling  is  necessarily  of  a  somewhat 
limited  range ;  and  there  must,  of  course,  be  some  similarity  in 
the  works  of  those  writers  who  treat  mainly  of  it  in  its  purely 
practical  aspects,  and  especially  in  reference  to  the  more  common 
branches  of  the  art.  Bearing  this  in  mind,  we  should  be  inclined, 
notwithstanding  the  multitude  of  angling  works  which  have  been 
published  during  the  present  century,  to  consider  the  diversity 
of  style  and  matter  as  a  marked  feature  in  the  angling  literature 
of  that  period." — Rev.  J.  J.  Manley. 

' '  When  a  fly  is  said  to  be  in  season  it  does  not  follow  that  it  is 
abroad  on  every  day  of  its  existence. " — Alfred  Ronalds. 

''The  amusing  study  of  entomology  is  necessary  to  a  skilful 
fly-fisher,  who  ought  to  be  acquainted  with  all  the  various  insects 
and  flies  applicable  to  his  art,  and  be  able  to  produce  a  close 
imitation  of  them." — T.  G.  Hojland. 

* '  After  a  rain  fish  usually  feed  ;  perhaps  there  is  a  little  wash 
of  mud  and  some  worms  into  the  river  ;  perhaps  the  rain-water 
raises  the  temperature  of  the  stream  slightly,  and  so  hatches  out 
flies  that  otherwise  would  have  remained  in  their  pupa  cases  until 
another  day." — Fred  Mather. 

' '  In  days  when  the  natural  flies  are  most  numerous,  the  trout 
will  not  take  the  artificial  fly  so  freely  ;  on  the  contrary,  when 
these  insects  are  rarely  to  be  seen,  if  the  angler  can  find  the  color 
that  is  then  prevailing,  and  imitate  it,  his  success  will  be  con- 
siderably increased. " —  William  BlOjcTcer. 

"  Much  fishing,  besides  to  a  certain  extent  thinning  the  trout, 
operates  against  the  angler's  killing  large  takes,  by  making  the 
remaining  trout  more  wary,  and  it  is  more  from  this  cause  than 
the  scarcity  Qf  trout  that  so  many  anglers  return  unsuccessful  from 
much-fished  streams." — W.  G.  Stewart. 


I 


'•   B-S.  S  S      FLIE  S 


Made  by  C.F.ORVIS.  Manchester, Vt 


CO  PYR  lO  HTE  D 


"These  flies,  I  am  sure,  would  kill  fish." — Charles  Cotton. 

"  I  would  advise  all  experts  to  keep  a  well-filled  fly-fcook.  It  is 
a  pleasure  to  experiment,  and  the  educated  eye  takes  delight  in 
looking  at  the  varieties  of  colors,  shapes  and  forms  which  the 
skilled  workman  in  fly-art  has  provided  as  lures  for  the  speckled 
beauties." — Oeorge  Daicson. 

' '  Fly-fishing  and  bait-fishing  are  co-ordinate  branches  of  the 
same  study,  and  each  must  be  thoroughly  learned  to  qualify  the 
aspirant  to  honors  for  the  sublime  degree  of  Master  of  the  Art." 
— Charles  Halloch. 

"  Americans  have  reason  to  be  proud  of  the  black  bass,  for  its 
game  qualities  endear  it  to  the  fisherman,  and  its  nutty,  «weet 
flavor  to  the  gourmand." — Parker  Gilmore. 


20.  Black  Maria.  21.  Tipperlinn. 

22.  Premier.  23.  Grizzly  King. 

24.  Ferguson.  2d.  25.  Californian. 

"  '  What  flies  do  you  most  affect"  here  ? '  *  Any,  at  times,  and 
almost  all.  In  some  weather  I  have  killed  well  with  middle- 
sized  gaudy  lake-flies  ;  but  my  favorites,  on  the  whole,  are  all  the 
red,  brown,  orange  and  yellow  hackles,  and  the  blue  and  yellow 
duns.' " — Henry  Wm.  Herbert. 

*'  The  real  enjoyment  of  camping  and  tramping  in  the  woods 
lies  in  a  return  to  primitive  conditions  of  lodging,  dress  and  food, 
in  as  total  an  escape  as  may  be  from  the  requirements  of  civiliza- 
tion. And  it  remains  to  be  explained  why  this  is  enjoyed  most 
by  those  whose  are  most  highly  civilized." — Charles  Dudley 
Warner, 

"Pish  will  frequently,  although  breaking  freely,  refuse  the 
fly,  but  generally  a  few  will  be  misled,  and  occasionally  one  will 
be  caught."— i2.  B.  Roosevelt, 


*'  The  natural  and  acquired  skill  actually  necessary  before  any 
man  can  throw  a  '  neat  fly,'  is  only  known  to  those  who  have 
made  this  method  of  angling  their  study  and  amusement." — 
^^  Frank  Forester." 

"  Luck  has  little  to  do  with  the  size  of  an  angling  score  ;  for  skill 
in  handling,  a  knowledge  of  the  haunts  of  the  fish,  of  the  condi- 
tions of  wind,  weather  and  water,  character  of  baits  to  be  used, 
of  the  changes  and  drift  of  tideways,  sun-rays  and  shadows,  and  a 
familiar  acquaintance  with  the  natural  history  of  the  family  pisces, 
their  habits,  habitat,  and  idiosyncrasies  (for  no  other  animal  is  so 
erratic  as  these  scaly  iins),  all  go  to  make  up  the  complete  angler, 
known  as  such  from  the  days  and  writings  of  Izaak  Walton,  in 
the  seventeenth,  up  to  this  great  nineteenth  century." — Wm.  C. 
Harris. 

"  What  is  the  use  of  my  telling  you  what  manoeuvres  that 
trout  will  perform  before  he  comes  to  the  landing-net,  gently  as  a 
lamb  ?  I  don't  know  what  he  will  do  ;  never  saw  two  of  them 
act  alike." — Oliver  Gihbs,  Jr. 

*'  Probably  the  secret  of  the  infatuation  of  this  amusement  to 
most  or  many  of  the  brothers  of  the  angle,  is  to  be  found  in  the 
close  and  quiet  communion  and  sympathy  with  nature  essential 
to  the  pursuit  of  the  spoil  of  the  water." — John  Lyle  King. 

"  The  principle  of  the  rod  is  in  reality  only  this,  that  it  is  the 
home  end  of  the  line,  stiffened  and  made  springy,  so  that  you 
can  guide  and  manage  it— cast  and  draw  it,  keep  a  gentle  press- 
ure with  it  on  the  hook,  so  that  the  fish  shall  not  rid  himself  of 
it,  and  finally  lift  him  to  the  landing  net." — W.  C.  Prime., 

"The  Palmer  hackle  is  never  totally  out  of  season." — Alfred 
Bonalds. 

*'Hold  him  tight,  O'Shaughnessy ;  you  are  the  greatest  hook 
ever  invented." — Thaddeus  Morris. 


FLY-FISHING   m  FLORIDA. 

BY 

DR.  J.   C.  KENWORTHY. 


The  votaries  of  the  rod  and  reel  have  overlooked  an 
important  field  for  sport,  for,  in  my  opinion,  no  por- 
tion of  the  United  States  offers  such  advantages  for 
fly-fishing  as  portions  of  Florida  during  the  winter 
months.  The  health  of  the  State  is  beyond  cavil  or 
dispute  ;  the  climate  is  all  the  most  fastidious  can  ask ; 
there  is  an  almost  total  absence  of  insect  pests,  and  last 
though  not  least,  a  greater  variety  of  fish  that  will  take 
the  fly  than  in  any  other  section  of  the  Union.  My 
own  experience  is  mainly  based  on  opportunities  for 
observation  on  the  south-west  coast,  and  it  is  possible 
that  points  on  the  eastern  coast,  as  the  Indian  River 
inlet  and  the  outlet  of  Lake  Worth,  may  offer  advan- 
tages over  the  section  referred  to. 

As  far  as  my  knowledge  extends,  fly-fishers  are  in- 
debted to  my  friend,  Geo.  C.  Johnson,  of  Bridgeport, 
Conn.,  for  the  development  of  fly-fishing  in  Florida. 
Some  years  since  I  met  Mr.  Johnson  on  his  arrival  in  this 
city  en  route  to  Homosassa.  He  remarked  that  he  had 
brought  his  fly-rod  with  him,  and  I  suggested  that  a 
heavy  bass  rod  would  prove  more  serviceable. 


310  FISHING  WITH  THE  FLY. 

On  the  evening  of  his  arrival  at  Homosassa  he  visited 
the  dock  in  front  of  Jones'  house,  and  noticed  fish 
breaking  water  near  the  shore.  He  proceeded  to  the 
house,  rigged  his  rod,  and  was  followed  to  the  dock  by 
a  number  of  laughing  sceptics,  who  ridiculed  the 
*' spindly  rod  and  feather  baits."  In  compliance  with 
Mr.  Johnson's  request,  Dr.  Berber  rowed  him  a  short  dis- 
tance from  the  dock,  and  the  fun  commenced  with 
large-mouthed  bass  and  red  trout ;  and  from  that  eve- 
ning fly-fishing  became  an  established  institution  on 
the  south-west  coast  of  Florida.  For  a  number  of  years 
Dr.  Ferber  has  devoted  his  winters  to  fly-fishing  on  the 
south-west  coast,  and  it  is  to  be  regretted  that  he  was 
not  requested  to  give  his  ripe  and  ample  experience, 
instead  of  one  who  is  far  beneath  him  in  experience  and 
ability  to  wield  the  split  bamboo  or  pen. 

The  next  season  after  Mr.  Johnson's  visit  to  Homo- 
sassa Mr.  Francis  Endicott,  of  New  York,  visited  the 
locality  and  indulged  in  fly-fishing.  He  informed  me 
that  he  had  captured  with  the  fly  eight  distinct  species 
of  fish  on  the  Homosassa  River  ;  and  I  will  ask  where 
else  in  the  United  States  can  the  devotee  of  the  gentle 
art  capture  eight  distinct  species  of  fish  with  the  fly  on 
a  river  but  ten  miles  in  length  ? 

My  friend.  Dr.  Ferber,  on  his  return  from  the  south- 
west coast  in  April  last,  visited  me,  and  stated  that  he 
had  caught  on  that  coast,  with  artificial  flies,  eleven 
distinct  species  of  fish.  Among  the  number  I  may 
mention    large-mouthed  bass   (trout  of    the   South), 


FLT  FISHING  IN  FLORIDA.  311 

channel  bass,  cavalli,  ravallia,  skip  jacks,  sea  trout, 
brown  snappers,  roach,  and  three  species  of  bream. 

Instead  of  wading  icy-cold  and.  over-fished  brooks, 
tearing  clothes  and  flesh  in  creeping  through  briers  and 
brush,  and  being  subjected  to  the  sanguinary  attention 
of  mosquitoes  and  black  flies  in  bringing  to  creel  a  few 
fingerlings,  in  Florida  the  angler  can  cast  his  fly  from 
a  sandy  beach  or  boat,  inhale  an  invigorating  atmos- 
phere, bask  in  the  sunshine,  and  capture  specimens  of 
the  finny  tribe,  the  weight  of  which  can  be  determined 
by  pounds  instead  of  ounces. 

Sea  trout  of  the  South  are  closely  allied  to  the  weak 
fish  of  the  North,  and  frequent  rapid  waters,  oyster 
beds  and  weedy  flats.  They  range  from  one  to  five 
pounds,  are  good  biters  and  make  a  noble  resistance  to 
avoid  the  landing  net. 

Large-mouthed  black  bass  (trout  of  the  South)  exist 
in  great  numbers  in  the  lakes  and  streams  of  the  State. 
In  very  clear  lakes  and  streams  they  are  not  disposed 
to  indulge  in  artificial  baits.  As  fighters  they  are  un- 
worthy of  the  notice  of  experts..  It  has  been  my  lot  to 
capture  them  in  many  localities,  and  I  have  found  that 
after  the  first  few  struggles  they  open  their  mouths  and 
come  to  gaff  like  a  grain  bag. 

Brown  snappers  exist  in  countless  numbers  in  some 
of  the  streams  of  the  State— as  in  the  Homosassa.  They 
range  from  six  ounces  to  one  pound,  and  cannot  resist 
the  temptation  to  capture  a  hook  decorated  with  feath- 
ers.    They  are  good  biters  and  fuH  of  game.     Owing 


312  FISETNG  WITH  THE  FLY. 

to  the  presence  of  a  number  of  rat-like  teeth,  they  play 
sad  hayoc  with  flies  ;  and  we  would  advise  those  who 
propose  engaging  in  the  capture  of  this  fish  to  provide 
an  ample  supply  of  feathery  lures. 

Skip-jacks  (or  bone-fish)  visit  the  streams  in  schools. 
They  range  from  two  to  six  pounds.  They  readily  take 
a  fly  and  die  game.  Owing  to  their  build,  size  of  fins, 
and  muscular  development,  they  are  worthy  of  notice. 
On  one  occasion  I  was  camped  at  Little  Gasparilla  pass, 
and  at  the  bay  side  of  the  inlet  there  existed  an  eddy  in 
which  I  could  see  hundreds  of  skip-jacks.  For  some 
time  I  amused  myself  by  casting,  and  the  moment  the 
bait  would  touch  the  water  the  surface  would  be  in  a  boil. 
I  would  strike  and  the  next  instant  a  bone-fish  would 
be  two  or  three  feet  in  the  air.  As  a  rule  they  enter 
the  streams  with  the  flood  tide,  and  as  they  are  con- 
stantly breaking  the  water  they  can  be  followed  in  a 
boat.  By  following  the  fish  on  the  flood  and  ebb  the 
rodster  may  enjoy  a  number  of  hours  of  exciting  sport. 
Between  Esteno  and  Marco  passes  I  have  seen  them  for 
hours  at  a  time  feeding  on  minnows  near  the  beach. 

The  Ravallia  is  a  fish  with  which  I  am  unacquainted, 
although  I  have  reason  to  believe  that  it  exists  in  quan- 
tity at  certain  points  on  the  south-west  coast.  My  friend 
Dr.  Ferber,  informed  me  that  in  one  of  his  cruises  he 
entered  Billy  Bow  Legs  Creek  and  noticed  a  deep  pool. 
He  made  a  cast  and  landed  a  ravallia.  Nearly  every 
cast  he  would  land  one  or  two  ranging  from  one  to 
three  pounds,   unless  a  ravenous   cavalli   interfered. 


FLY  FISHING  IN  FLORIDA,  313 

The  cavalli  of  large  size  would  seem  to  tire  of  the 
flouncing  and  floundering  of  their  neighbors,  and  would 
join  in  the  fray,  when  the  doctor  would  part  with  a  fly 
or  leader.  The  doctor  assured  me  that  the  sport  was 
kept  up  until  he  was  surfeited.  He  describes  the  fish 
as  resembling  a  pike  perch  of  the  North,  and  is  loud  in 
its  praise  as  a  game  fish.  Friends  have  informed  me 
that  they  have  captured  specimens  of  this  fish,  with  cut 
bait,  weighing  thirty  pounds.  My  impression  is,  that 
if  pools  and  inlets  south  of  Punta  Rassa  were  thor- 
oughly tried  with  the  fly  that  the  piscator  would  be 
rewarded  with  large-sized  specimens. 

Bream  of  several  species  exist  in  great  numbers  in 
many  of  the  streams  and  lakes  of  the  State.  They 
range  from  four  ounces  to  one  pound,  and  afford  con- 
siderable sport  on  a  light  rod.  Roach  are  not  plentiful, 
but  where  they  exist  they  will  not  refuse  a  brown  hackle. 

In  many  of  the  streams  of  the  State  war-mouthed 
perch  exist  in  numbers,  ranging  from  one  to  three 
pounds.  When  the  streams  are  low,  they  readily  take 
a  fly,  and  give  the  angler  all  he  can  attend  to. 

In  some  of  the  creeks  tributary  to  the  St.  Johns' 
and  in  some  of  the  interior  lakes,  pickerel  exercise 
their  snapping  propensities,  and  do  not  object  to  appro- 
priate a  gaudy  fly  in  the  early  morn  or  at  the  close  of 
the  day. 

On  the  Eastern  Coast,  more  especially  at  Indian  River 
inlet,  small  blue  fish  congregate  in  numbers  during  the 
winter  months,  and  at  times  will  not  refuse  a  fly.     They 


314  FISHING  WITH  THE  FLY. 

are  fair  fighters,  and  as  the  piscator  can  fish  from  a  sandy 
beach,  much  enjoyment  can  be  secured. 

In  Florida  cat  fish  will  take  a  fly,  and  I  may  also 
add  a  spinner.  In  this  State  we  have  a  number  of 
species  of  this  fish,  and  one  is  a  surface  feeder.  In 
the  evening,  when  they  are  feeding  on  the  surface,  they 
will  not  reject  a  large  and  gaudy  fly.  To  those  who 
have  been  accustomed  to  capture  with  a  stout  rod 
diminutive  specimens  of  catties,  I  will  say,  hook  on  to 
a  catty  weighing  from  six  to  twelve  pounds  and  there 
will  be  *' music  in  the  air,"  and  unless  skill  is  exercised 
on  the  part  of  the  fisherman  the  leader  will  go  to  where 
the  "woodbine twineth." 

In  Florida,  as  everywhere  else,  the  best  fishing  is  near 
where  A.,  B.  or  C.  run  a  hotel  or  keep  a  boarding  house, 
or  where  certain  steamboats  make  a  terminal  landing. 
But  in  my  experience  the  best  places  to  fish,  as  a  rule, 
are  where  there  are  no  hotels  or  specimens  of  the  col- 
ored persuasion  with  their  cast  nets.  When  "  I  go  a- 
fishing  "  I  leave  civilization,  hotels,  and  boarding-houses 
in  the  rear. 

The  best  points  for  fly-fishing  for  large-mouthed  bass 
are  on  the  upper  St.  Johns,  the  tributaries  of  Indian 
river,  the  Kessiijimee  and  the  streams  and  lagoons  on 
the  south-west  coast.  For  pickerel  and  bream  the  best 
points  are  the  tributaries  of  the  St.  Johns  between 
Mandarin  and  Lake  Monroe.  For  war-mouthed  perch, 
the  best  streams  will  be  found  in  Alachua  County. 

From  all  that  I  can  glean  from  gentlemen  who  have 


FL  Y  FISHING  m  FLORIDA.  315 

fished  the  locality,  the  lower  Indian  Riyer  and  its  tribu- 
taries will  furnish  a  fine  field  for  the  fly-caster.  "West 
of  Cedar  Keys  to  St.  Marks  is  a  shoal  coast  covered 
with  marine  algae  ;  and  the  coast  line  is  cut  up  with  a 
number  of  small  streams  stocked — nay,  swarming — with 
fish.  This  section  is  uninhabited,  the  streams  have 
not  been  fished,  and  a  fine  field  for  sport  awaits  the 
fisherman.  In  addition,  hand  line  or  bass  rod  fishing 
can  be  enjoyed  for  sheepshead  and  channel  bass.  The 
woods  abound  with  deer,  the  hummocks  contain  plenty 
of  turkeys,  and  the  bays  and  grassy  flats  during  the 
winter  are  alive  with  ducks,  and  in  certain  localities 
geese  and  brant  will  be  found.  Beech  birds,  as  snipe 
and  curlews,  can  be  bagged  in  quantity. 

The  first  stream  worthy  of  notice  on  the  southwest 
coast  is  the  Homosassa  River,  forty  miles  south  of 
Cedar  Keys.  But  this  beautiful  river  has  lost  its 
greatest  attraction,  **  Mother  Jones."  I  have  been  in- 
formed that  she  left  Homosassa,  and,  as  a  sequence, 
there  will  be  wanting  the  clean  rooms  and  beds,  the 
stewed  and  scalloped  oysters,  the  aromatic  coffee,  the 
delicious  breakfast  bacon,  and  the  luscious  sheepshead 
done  to  a  turn.  With  "Mother  Jones"  will  depart 
many  of  the  attractions  of  the  place,  more  particularly 
the  cusine.  I  write  feelingly,  for  I  was  the  first  to 
make  known  the  attractions  of  my  favorite  Homosassa. 

According  to  my  friend.  Dr.  Ferber,  Billy  Bow  Legs 
Creek,  a  tributary  of  Sarasota  Bay,  presents  many  at- 
tractions to  the  fly-fisher,  more  especially  in  the  capture 


316  FISHINO   WITH  THE  FLY. 

of  cavalli  and  ravallia.  Long  Boat  Inlet,  an  entrance  to 
this  bay,  must  not  be  overlooked. 

Many  points  in  Charlotte  Harbor  offer  inducements 
to  the  fly-fisher.  If  he  tires  of  using  the  split  bamboo, 
he  can  troll  with  a  spinner  and  land  large  channel  bass 
and  cavalli ;  for  divertisement  he  can  seat  himself  in  an 
arm  chair  on  the  dock  at  Punta  Rassa  and  imitate  my 
friend  Matthew  Quay  (late  Secretary  of  State  of  Pennsyl- 
vania), who  landed  fifty-six  large  sheepshead  in  one  hour. 
If  dissatisfied  with  this  description  of  sport  the  piscator 
can  indulge  in  the  capture  of  Jew-fish,  weighing  from 
one  to  three  hundred  pounds.  On  the  Calloosahatchee, 
above  the  islands,  the  fly  caster  can  be  satiated  with 
sport  in  landing  large-sized  cavalli.  From  Charlotte 
Harbor  southward  every  entrance,  bay,  pass  and  lagoon 
will  afford  royal  sport. 

Delicate  mist-colored  leaders  are  not  a  necessity,  for 
Florida  fish  have  not  been  educated  or  posted  with 
regard  to  the  tricks  of  the  craft.  They  seem  to  recog- 
nize but  little  difference  between  a  single  strand  of  gut 
and  a  clothes-line.  The  main  things  requisite  are  strong 
leaders  and  large-sized  hooks,  for  when  fish  are  so  plen- 
tiful and  valueless  the  fisherman  is  apt  to  try  and  see  how 
many  he  can  land  within  a  given  period.  With  regard 
to  flies,  almost  any  of  the  more  common  ones  will  an- 
swer a  good  purpose.  My  choice  for  channel  bass,  ca- 
valli, sea  trout  and  bone  fish  is  a  large-sized  gaudy  fly 
with  a  large-sized  hook. 

To  reach  the  south-west  coast  persons  can  go  direct 


FL  Y  FISHING  IN  FLORIDA.  317 

from  Savannah  or  Fernandina,  or  visit  Jacksonville  en 
route.  At  Cedar  Keys,  Tampa,  or  Manatee  they  can 
charter  a  sloop  or  schooner  of  from  four  to  six  tons  for 
five  or  six  dollars  per  day.  This  amount  will  cover 
captain,  boy,  small  boat,  bedding,  stove  and  cooking 
utensils.  Fish,  beach  birds,  oysters  and  clams  are 
plentiful,  and  the  expense  of  the  culinary  department 
will  be  from  fifty  cents  to  five  dollars  per  capita  per 
diem,  according  to  the  dietetic  proclivities  of  the  per- 
sons comprising  the  party. 

The  coast  is  shallow,  the  ten-fathom  line  ranging 
from  thirty  to  forty  miles  from  shore,  and  as  a  conse- 
quence there  is  no  undertow,  rollers  or  heavy  seas.  The 
passage  from  Cedar  Keys  to  Bay  Biscayne  can  be  made 
in  a  small  boat  at  almost  any  time.  On  one  occasion 
the  writer  made  the  trip  from  Key  West  to  Cedar  Keys 
in  a  boat  sixteen  feet  in  length. 

Fly-fishing  in  Florida  is  a  recent  development,  and  it 
offers  a  large  field  for  experiment  and  investigation ; 
and  I  trust  that  the  period  is  not  far  distant  when  the 
sport  will  be  indulged  in  by  the  many.  By  the  first  of 
January,  1884,  Tampa  will  be  reached  from  this  city 
in  twenty-four  hours  via  Sanford  and  Kissimmee. 
From  what  we  know  of  railroads  in  this  State  we  feel 
assured  that  one  will  be  completed  to  Punta  Eassa  within 
two  years  ;  when  Charlotte  Harbor  and  Estero  Bay,  the 
greatest  of  fishing  points,  will  be  rendered  accessible 
to  all. 

In  preparing  this  article  we  have  used  the  common 


318  FISHING  WITH  THE  FLY. 

names  of  fish,  and  the  reason  for  so  doing  will  be  obvi- 
ous to  all.     In  passing  through  this  city,  if  fly-fishers 
will  call  upon  me  between  12  m.  and  2  p.m.,  I  will  en- 
deavor to  smooth  the  road  for  them. 
Jacksonville,  Fla. 


FLY-FISHING. 

BY 

COL.  E.  Z.  C.  JUDSON.— "NedBuntline." 


FiSHEKMEK  are  horn  such — not  made  !  That  is  my 
private  opinion,  publicly  expressed.  It  is  founded  upon 
the  experience  of  full  half  a  century  on  ocean,  lake, 
river,  and  brook.  I  have  taken  a  mature  man  with  me 
on  a  fishing  trip,  who  had  never  cast  *^  a  line  in  pleas- 
ant places,"  lent  him  rod  and  tackle,  made  a  few  casts 
in  his  presence,  caught  perhaps  a  half  a  dozen  trout,  and 
then  watched  his  imitative  power  combined  with  the 
tact  lorn  in  him.  If  he  was  one  of  the  right  sort  he 
would  go  right  on  improving  every  hour,  and  in  a  little 
while  begin  to  fill  his  creel  with  the  best  of  us. 

My  personal  knowledge  of  fish  and  fishing  began 
early.  My  father  had  few  superiors  as  an  angler,  and 
trouting  was  his  specialty.  He  made  his  own  rods, 
lines  and  files.  The  first  was  a  tapering  ashen  pole — 
generally  about  ten  feet  long — scraped,  oiled  and  var- 
nished till  it  was  as  smooth  and  bright  as  glass.  The 
line  was  made  from  horse-hair  and  braided  with  a  care 
and  patience  that  used  to  be  a  wonder  to  me. 

The  blue-jay,  the  red-headed  woodpecker,  the  pheas- 
ant and  wood-duck  were  shot  for  fly-feathers.     "When  I 


320  FISHING   WITH  THE  FLT. 

was  a  wee  toddler  in  skirts  I  used  to  hold  hooks  and 
snells  and  play  at  "helping  papa." 

All  this  was  done  here  at  the  head  of  the  Delaware, 
where  both  my  father  and  myself  were  born.  But  a 
change  came.  When  I  was  about  six  years  old  my  fa- 
ther bought  a  large  tract  of  wild  land  in  the  wildest  • 
part  of  Wayne  County,  Pennsylvania,  and  settled  on  it. 
The  Lackawaxen  Creek  ran  right  through  it,  and  that 
then  lovely  stream  was  literally  alive  with  speckled 
trout.  From  the  day  we  entered  our  log  house  there  I 
was  ^fisher -boy.  I  caught  trout  every  day  in  the  sum- 
mer, for  a  big  spring  rose  within  a  rod  of  the  house 
and  from  it  ran  a  lively  brook  to  the  main  stream,  ten 
rods  away,  and  even  a  pin-hook  and  linen  thread  would 
draw  them  out. 

As  I  grew  older  I  would  go  with  my  father  to  the 
big  eddies  and  deep  holes,  where  he  would  lure  the 
largest  to  his  fly  and  I  was  only  too — too  utterly  happy 
when  allowed  to  wade  waist  deep  in  the  water  to  carry 
or  float  his  string  of  trout  toward  home. 

Since  then  never  a  summer  has  passed,  except  when 
actively  engaged  in  naval  or  military  service  for  my 
country,  that  has  not  found  me  fishing  somewhere.  I 
have  covered  the  best  waters  in  Maine,  New  Hampshire 
and  Vermont ;  Canada  and  the  British  Provinces  know 
me  of  old  ;  California,  Oregon  and  British  Columbia — 
all  along  the  Big  Eockies — have  seen  me  testing  flies 
and  bait,  the  former  often  tied  rudely  on  the  spur  of 
necessity,  but  generally  very  effectively.     For  where 


FLY  FISHING.  321 

trout  are  very  plenty,  food  is  scarce,  and  they  will  bite 
at  anything.  I  speak  of  trout  mostly,  for  that  is  my 
favorite  fish.  Salmon  next,  although  the  work  comes 
in  when  you  strike  anything  over  eight  or  ten  pounds, 
and  sport  degenerates  when  it  becomes  labor.  I  have 
heard  of  "  labors  of  love,"  but  I  never  took  stock  in 
anything  of  the  kind. 

In  all  this  active  piscatorial  life,  I  have  studied 
Fishermen  as  well  as  fish.  And  I  have  come  to  the  con- 
clusion which  opens  this  article — that  fishermen  are  horn 
for  it  and  can't  be  manufactured  out  of  raiu  material ! 

I  have  felt  thankful  to  our  Father  above  that  nine 
out  of  ten  of  the  tourists  who  take  to  the  streams  in 
easy  reach,  are  indifferent  fishermen.  For  thereby  the 
streams  still  contain  fish.  Were  all  who  fish  in  them 
skillful  and  hoggish,  in  a  little  while  there  would  be  no 
fishing  except  in  far-away  places,  difficult  to  reach. 

I  do  not  claim  to  hold  a  Master's  Degree  as  a  fly-fisher- 
man. I  do  delight  in  the  art,  for  one  of  the  arts  and 
sciences  it  surely  is.  I  have  bowed  my  head  in  rever- 
ence before  the  skilled  hand  of  my  dear  friend,  George 
Dawson — now  beside  the  bright  waters  of  the  Happy 
Land  above.  I  have  stood  silent  and  pleased  while 
Seth  Green  deftly  made  casts  which  I  could  only  feebly 
imitate. 

Yet  those  who  know  me  best  sa^  that  I  can  use  a  fly- 
rod  and  catch  trout  and  salmon  therewith,  so  I  essay  a 
few  words  on  the  subject,  speaking  only  from  my  own  ex- 
perience.    I  have  never  been  observant  enough  to  see  a 


322  FlSnmO  WITH  THE  FLY. 

trout  strike  a  fly  with  his  tail,  drown  it  and  then  eat  it. 
I  always  take  a  trout  in  the  mouth  on  my  fly — gene- 
rally hooked  in  the  upper  lip,  showing  that  he  does 
his  part  of  the  business  in  a  straightforward  way  and 
does  not  come  tail  first  to  the  lure. 

I  own  to  be  a  little  particular  about  my  rod,  the 
middle  joint  not  too  limber,  but  with  back-bone  as  well 
as  spring ;  it  suits  me  if  it  tapers  so  as  to  describe  a 
perfect  arc  when  the  tip  is  brought  near  to  the  butt.  I 
specify  no  makers — though  I  own  to  favorites  in  that 
line.     I  wish  to  make  no  petty  jealousies  here. 

A  rod  as  near  ten  feet  long  as  may  be,  for  trout  fish- 
ing, weight  from  seven  to  eight  ounces,  never  over  ten, 
with  the  reel  close  to  and  under  the  butt ;  an  easy  run- 
ning click-reel ;  a  line  of  braided  hair  and  silk,  strong 
and  weighty  enough  for  a  cast  against  the  wind  as  well 
as  with  it ;  a  clear,  strong,  looped  leader  for  a  quick 
change  of  flies  ;  a  book  well  supplied  with  the  latter  to 
give  the  speckled  beauties  a  choice,  and  I  am  ready  for 
work. 

The  idea  of  special  flies  for  special  seasons  of  the 
year  I  have  found  to  be  a  humbug.  Trout  are  exceed- 
ingly whimsical  about  flies.  Watch  those  that  are  on 
the  stream,  see  which  the  trout  leap  for  and  get  as  near 
the  like  of  them  as  your  book  will  allow. 

Always,  if  possible,  fish  down  stream.  It  is  easier. 
You  can  detect  swirls,  eddies,  shaded  j)ools,  coverts  of 
rock,  mossy-banks  and  overhanging  branches,  from 
above,  better  than  below.     Trout  do  not  scare  so  easily 


FLYFISHING,  323 

that  a  cast  of  fifteen  or  twenty  feet  will  not  find  them 
ready  to  rise  if  they  are  hungry.  You  have  also  the 
aid  of  the  current  in  guiding  your  fly  to  each  coveted 
spot  after  it  touches  the  water. 

Enter  a  stream,  say  its  average  width  is  seventy- five 
or  one  hundred  feet,  few  of  our  mountain  streams 
are  so  much,  and  a  skilled  rodster  can  cover  it  with 
fease — for  wading  down  he  chooses  his  water,  makes  his 
casts,  seldom  over  twenty  or  twenty-five  feet  of  line  to 
a  cast,  much  oftener  less,  and  in  ^'^good  waters"  fills 
his  creel. 

For  a  forward  cast,  with  your  line  as  far  out  as  may 
be  necessary  for  the  distance,  throw  your  rod  sharply 
back  to  an  angle  of  not  over  fifteen  degrees,  and  then 
bring  it  forward  quickly  till,  as  your  line  and  flies  are  ex- 
tended, the  tip  is  on  a  level  with  your  breast,  never 
lower  so  as  to  dip  water.  With  a  line  "  taut,"  so  to  speak, 
if  a  trout  rises  as  your  fly  or  flies  touch  the  stream,  a 
sharp,  quick  turn  of  the  wrist  will  strike  the  hook  home 
and  secure  him .  Your  strike  must  be  firm  and  decisive  ; 
give  the  trout  one  second  to  understand  and  he  spits 
the  fly  out.     Laugh  if  you  will,  but  that  is  what  he  does. 

When  hooked,  if  not  too  large  for  your  tackle,  draw 
the  trout  swiftly  to  you,  lift  him  out,  and  break  his 
neck,  by  bending  back  the  head  where  it  joins  the 
back-bone.  Thus  he  is  out  of  pain,  and  does  not  bruise 
and  flop  himself  soft,  while  dying,  in  your  creel. 
** Playing"  a  trout  for  the  mere  fun  of  the  thing,  is 
unnecessary  torture  ;  besides,  you  frighten  more  than 


324  FISHING  WITH  THE  FLY. 

you  secure,  in  the  process.  A  yery  large  trout,  of 
course,  must  be  weakened  in  the  water,  but  many 
fishermen  think  there  is  no  sport  without  they  "play" 
a  fish,  no  matter  how  small  he  is. 

Never  cast  a  foot  more  line  than  you  need.  You 
cannot  gather  slack  half  as  easy  as  you  can  pay  it  out. 

In  regard  to  files — I  have  found  the  brighter  the  day, 
as  a  general  thing,  the  darker  fiy  do  trout  want.  A.^ 
early  dawn,  or  in  the  soft  twilight  of  evening,  a  very 
light  fiy-^a  Coachman,  is  best.  Next,  Gray  Miller,  and 
especially  the  Stone  fly.  I  use  more  Coachmen,  Black 
Gnats  and  Stone  flies  in  one  season,  than  I  do  of  all 
other  flies  put  together  in  three  summers. 

Be  sure,  of  all  things,  that  your  line  runs  easy  through 
the  standing  guides,  or  guide-rings.  I  like  the  for- 
mer best. 

In  casting  right  or  left,  to  reach  under  bushy  or 
over-hanging  limbs,  the  same  sharp,  or  quick  action 
which  makes  an  over-cast  successful,  is  required,  and 
great  care  not  to  draw  any  slack  line  when  your  fly 
drops  where  you  want  it. 

Many  fly-fishermen  are  considered  adepts  according 
to  the  lerigth  rather  than  the  grace  and  certainty  of 
their  casts.  I  do  not  think  in  actual  stream  fishing  an 
average  of  a  day's  casting,  would  reach  over  fifteen  feet 
to  a  cast.  I  never  made  but  one  very  long  cast  in 
actual  angling  in  my  life. 

Once,  on  the  bank  of  a  mill-pond  in  the  upper  part 
of  Alder  Brook,  in  Ulster  County,  N.  Y.,  I  saw  a  trout 


FLYFISHING.  325 

in  shoal  water,  the  largest  I  ever  caught  in  that  vicin- 
ity. To  reach  him  without  alarm,  I  cast  seyenty-two 
feet,  measured  afterward  from  a  knot  on  my  line  near 
my  reel,  and  got  my  fish. 

He  weighed  two  and  a  quarter  pounds,  and  I  had  to 
play  him  some  to  save  him. 

And  now,  with  a  word  to  young  fishermen  and  old 
beginners,  I  will  close. 

Learn  first  to  cast  a  line  and  take  a  trout  with  bait 
before  you  try  a  fly.  You  will  thereby  gain  confidence, 
learn  to  hook  your  fish  at  the  instant  he  strikes,  and 
gain  the  supple  use  of  arm  and  wrist  which  makes  the 
fly-fisherman  skillful. 

My  dear  wife,  by  whose  sick  bed  I  pen  these  words, 
for  one  long  joyous  summer  in  camp,  fished  by  my  side, 
using  bait  while  she  saw  me  casting  no  lure  but  flies. 

The  next  time  we  went  on  the  stream  she  had  a  six- 
ounce  fly-rod,  and  fifty  beautiful  trout  in  two  hours 
to  her  basket  proved  how  apt  a  pupil  she  had  been. 

With  many  words  of  cheer  to  all  who  love  the  glori- 
ous pastime,  I  remain,  as  of  yore — Uncle  Ned — a  born 
fisherman. 

"  Eagle's  Nest,"  Delaware  Co.,  N.  Y. 


"  In  casting  against  the  wind  you  must  lift  your  line  from  the 
water  so  that  it  extends  behind  you  at  about  an  angle  of  forty-five 
degrees,  and  then  bring  your  rod  down  sharply  right  onto  the 
water,  and  straight  against  the  wind ;  this  makes  the  line  cut 
through  it,  and  extend  out  straight  onto  the  water.  The  secret  is 
to  keep  the  line  well  up  behind,  and  then  ^continue  the  forward 
impetus  sharply  until  the  rod  tip  touches,  or  nearly  touches  the 
water." — Beuhen  Wood. 

"  It  is  impossible  to  lay  down  inflexible  rules  for  stream  fishing, 
which  is  the  most  artistic  of  all  fishing,  and  requires  more  knowl- 
edge of  the  habits  of  fish  and  changes  of  tactics  to  meet  the  vary- 
ing moods  of  the  weather. " — Fred  Mather. 

' '  A  little  horse  sense  goes  a  great  way  in  all  things,  trouting  not 
excepted  ;  it  is  an  indispensable  foundation  to  success." — ''^Bour- 
geois. " 

"Summarizing  some  facts  from  the  journal  of  the  club  we  add 
the  opinions  of  its  members.  Good  flies  for  black  bass  trolling  are 
*  Montreal,'  *  scarlet  ibis,'  'brown  hackle,'  'Cheney,'  and  *  grizzly 
king.'"— ilf.  M.  Backus. 

* '  The  trout  rose  freely,  and  we  had  good  sport,  until  the  fog 
lifted,  when  the  fishing  ceased." — Fiiz  James  Fitch. 

"  You  can't  help  now  and  then  giving  a  vicious  little  tug  to  feel 
sure  your  hook  is  well  set  in,  or  a  sharp  twist  of  the  wrist  when 
you  find  the  '  enemy '  heading  for  a  stump  ;  but  once  he's  landed 
and  lies  on  the  mossy  bank  or  lichened  rock,  his  spangled  armor 
gleaming  in  the  sunshine,  his  little  life  drifting  painlessly  away 
in  spasmodic  sobs.  Lord !  how  you  love  him !  " — Frank.  8.  Finck' 
ney. 

*'  There  is  not  a  sign  of  fear  about  the  speckled  trout,  he  is  pluck 
personified,  from  his  keen  lustrous  eyes  to  the  swirl  and  dash  of 
his  square  tail  that  waves  in  defiance. " —  W.  JDamd  Tomlin. 

"  At  the  commencement  of  the  open  season,  and  until  the  young 
maple  leaves  are  half  grown,  bait  will  be  found  more  successful 
than  the  fly." — "  Nessmuk." 


Made  by  C.F.ORVIS.  Manchester, Vt 


CO  PYR  I G  H  TE  D 


*'  There  are  two  peculiarities  of  all  sorts  of  fish,  which  are  fre- 
quently unnoticed  ;  that  they  are  largely  attracted  to  their  food 
by  scent,  and  that  they  feed  at  night. " — Seth  Green . 

"  The  first  and  last  object  of  the  fly-fisher  is  to  show  as  much 
of  the  fly  to  the  fish  as  possible,  and  as  little  of  anything  else. " — 
Francis  Francis. 

*'  The  notion  of  the  main  mass  of  anglers  would  appear  to  be, 
that  if  an  unusually  cunning  fish  takes  up  an  impregnable-look- 
ing position  he  is  to  be  religiously  left  unassailed.  '  Breakers 
ahead  1 '  seem  to  be  scented  by  the  over-cautious  pliers  of  the  rod, 
when  the  chances  of  conquest  are  really  '  as  even '  as  in  less  dan- 
gerous localities  ;  and  even  supposing  this  were  not  so,  the  greater 
the  difficulties  the  more  exciting  the  sport,  and  the  keener  the 
pleasure." — David  Foster. 

26.  Manchester.  27.  Blue  Jay,  ^^* 

28.  Imperial.  29.  McLeod.  *»^^ 

30.  Black  and  Gold.  31.  White  and  Jungle  Cock. 

"  Many  men  of  fame,  even  equal  to  Dr.  Johnson's,  have  been 
eminent  as  anglers,  and  have  redeemed  and  disculpated  angling 
from  his  surly  and  foolish  sneer.*' — John  Lyle  King, 

"  I  invariably  endeavor,  when  dressing  a  fly,  to  imitate  the 
living  insect ;  still  I  have  seen  nondescript  flies  beat  all  the  pal- 
mer hackles  and  the  most  life-like  flies  that  ever  graced  a  casting- 
line." — "Frank  Forester."" 

"If  we  are  content  with  an  ungainly  fly,  we  will  be  satisfied 
with  inferiority  of  rod  and  tackle  ;  and  although  the  fish  may 
not  see  the  difference,  the  angler  may  become,  from  neglecting 
one  point,  slovenly  in  all.  A  well-made  fly  is  a  beautiful  object, 
an  ill-made  one  an  eye-sore  and  annoyance  ;  and  it  is  a  great  sat- 
isfaction both  to  exhibit  and  examine  a  well- filled  book  of  hand- 
somely tied  flies."— J?.  B.  Roosevelt. 


"What  is  life,  after  all,  but  just  going  a-fishing  all  the  time, 
casting  flies  on  many  rivers  and  lakes,  and  going  quietly  home 
as  the  day  is  ending  ?" — W.  G.  Prime. 

*'  This  fishing  story  is  at  an  end  ;  not  for  want  of  material,  for 
there  are  other  scenes  and  other  times  of  equal  pleasure  that 
crowd  my  memory  as  I  write  these  lines.  And  so  it  will  ever  be 
to  you,  my  friend,  should  you,  even  in  your  later  years,  take  up 
the  angler's  art :  it  grows  with  its  growth,  and  strengthens  with 
its  strength,  and,  if  uncurbed,  may  perchance,  with  many  of  us, 
become  a  passion. 

"But,  for  all  that,  it  will  fill  the  storehouse  of  our  memories 
with  many  a  scene  of  unalloyed  pleasure,  which  in  the  sunset  of 
life  we  may  look  back  upon  with  fondest  satisfaction. 

"If  in  the  minds  of  any  one  of  you  who  a,s  yet  are  ignorant  of 
the  charm  of  fishing,  as  it  has  here  been  revealed,  I  have  induced 
the  desire  for  a  test,  '  Stand  not  upon  the  order  of  your  going,  but 
go  at  once,'  provided  it  be  the  season,  and,  the  word  of  an  old 
fisherman  for  it,  you  will  thank  me  for  these  random  pages." — 
Charles  W.  Stevmis. 


UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFOl       X  LIBRARY 
BERKELEY 

Return  to  desk  from  which  borrowed. 
This  book  is  DUE  on  the  last  date  stamped  below. 


9Apr5  2i-i 


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